Parenting Culture in a Neoliberal Market Society and the “No‐Kids Zone” Controversy in South Korea

In recent years, “no‐kids zones”—commercial sites that bar young children—have emerged as a distinct phenomenon in urban South Korea. Despite controversy, these spaces have garnered surprisingly broad support from parents and non‐parents alike. The current paper explains the cultural acceptance of “no‐kids zones” through an analysis of narratives from 55 informants. We argue that the widespread legitimization of “no‐kids zones” reflects a neoliberal ideology that frames parenting and market activity as morally incompatible yet functionally intertwined. Families are cast as particularistic actors whose private interests are seen to disrupt commercial civility, while simultaneously expected to act as disciplined consumers who purchase access to space and regulate children as market‐compatible subjects. This paradox positions “good parenting” as aligning with market governance, even as family needs are constructed as inherently threatening to that same market. Our study illuminates how neoliberal ideologies shape contemporary parenting culture by structuring the relationship between childcare and market society. We suggest that resolving this exclusionary culture requires confronting and reimagining how neoliberalism constructs families as both subordinate to and disruptive of commercial imperatives.