Filial Piety in Modern Times: Timely Adaptation and Practice Patterns

Abstract. In recent years industrialisation and urbanisation have weakened the willingness of adult children to care for their elderly parents. The results of the author's studies reveal that the majority of Korean adult children still value and practice filial piety in their day‐to‐day living. However, the way they express this cultural value has changed in the process of adapting to rapid and massive social changes. For instance many of them, due to job situation, schooling and needs to explore better opportunities, live separately from their elderly parents. In spite of this physical separation, most Korean adult children strive to practice filial piety in terms of affection, responsibility, family harmony, repayment, sacrifice and so forth. By expressing and practising these basic values using the telephone, letters, visitation and other tools for communication, they maintain close relationships with their elderly parents. The relationship between parents and adult children in Korea is transforming into a new type in which mutual respect and reciprocal care and support are considered more important than submission to the authority of the elderly.