Why do they depend on the private sector of childcare in South Korea? Perspectives of the selected working mothers

Low birth rate constitutes one of the social problems currently faced by South Korea. In order to solve this issue, the government has tried to reduce the burden of child rearing and enhance child support. Despite governmental childcare support policy being tightened, the burden of childcare remains an issue, especially for working mothers; in fact, some rely on private services due to the lack of high quality and reliable public childcare services. There are few studies related to the use of private services by working mothers in South Korea. In this sense, this study focuses on the experience of working mothers with private childcare professionals—so called emo in South Korea. Through an in-depth interview with six participants, this study reveals the real voice of working mothers hiring emoes to care for and support their children, filling the gap between childcare policy and their demands and providing suggestions to alleviate this discrepancy.