The Family Name and the Family System

This flow traces Kim Jiyoung’s encounters with inherited family structures, from the household hierarchy of her childhood to the choice of a surname for her own child and the gendered labor of married life.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Son’s Privilege

The Son’s Privilege Daily Allocation In Kim Jiyoung’s childhood home, her younger brother receives fresh rice first and the best pieces of food, while the sisters share supplies and make do with what is left. Their mother praises them for caring for him, turning unequal allocation into a story of sisterly generosity. Koh Boonsoon’s preference for her grandson is shaped by an older belief that sons are precious and must be protected. Kim Jiyoung does not initially understand the pattern as discrimination because it is presented as the ordinary order of family life. A Larger Inheritance The household’s customs echo a national history in which sons have been treated as heirs and daughters as support for the family. The imbalance is not only a matter of affection; it organizes resources, expectations, and whose future receives investment. This early arrangement gives Kim Jiyoung a personal experience of a wider system. Its apparent smallness helps explain why such inequalities can persist: each individual decision seems minor when separated from the pattern it reproduces.

A Pregnancy Erased

A Pregnancy Erased Pressure for a Boy After the births of Kim Eunyoung and Kim Jiyoung, Oh Misook becomes pregnant again and hopes the child will be a boy. Her fear reflects the expectations of her household and the wider period, when daughters could be regarded as a disappointment before birth. When she learns the fetus is female, Oh Misook undergoes an abortion without the support of her family. The doctor’s compassionate response is one of the few moments in which anyone acknowledges the grief and physical suffering behind the decision. The Family Repeats Its Wish Years later, a son is born into the family and becomes the child whose arrival had been anticipated. The circumstances around the loss remain part of the history even when daily life moves on. The episode shows how son preference can force women to carry responsibility for a decision made under pressure. Its cost is both personal and social: the family’s desire for a boy becomes a burden borne by Oh Misook alone.

Choosing the Paternal Name

Choosing the Paternal Name A Legal Option When Kim Jiyoung and Jung Daehyun register their marriage, the form asks whether their future child will take the mother’s surname and family origin. The option exists after the old family registry system has been abolished, but custom still favors the father’s name. Jung Daehyun says that Jung is a decent surname. Kim Jiyoung understands that a child with her name might face questions and explanations, and she checks no on the form herself. Change Without Transformation The decision is not presented as a dramatic dispute between the couple. Its weight comes from the gap between formal choice and social expectation: a legal alternative is available, yet the familiar option feels easier to live with. Kim Jiyoung wonders whether institutions change values or values change institutions. The question connects her private paperwork to the longer persistence of patrilineal inheritance, even after the law has changed.

Marriage and Uneven Labor

Marriage and Uneven Labor Expectations at Home Before marriage, Kim Jiyoung’s mother and Jung Daehyun’s mother discuss how little the couple knows about running a household. Their conversation treats domestic competence as something Kim Jiyoung will acquire, even though Jung Daehyun has lived independently and knows how to do household tasks. The couple’s early life sometimes feels like dating and play, but long workdays and weekend work leave little time to establish a deliberate division of labor. Unspoken assumptions remain available to fill the gap. The Language of Participation When the couple later discusses a child, Jung Daehyun promises to help with the baby and household tasks. Kim Jiyoung challenges the word because help implies that the work belongs to her in the first place. Her objection names a structure that affectionate intentions alone cannot fix. The marriage depends on a shared life, but care work is repeatedly described as Kim Jiyoung’s responsibility with Jung Daehyun’s participation framed as a favor.

A Holiday Confrontation

A Holiday Confrontation Invisible Work Exposed During a visit to Jung Daehyun’s family, Kim Jiyoung helps prepare and serve holiday meals. When Suhyun objects to the amount of food being made and the burden placed on her sister-in-law, Kim Jiyoung responds in the voice of an older woman she has previously embodied. She says that holidays belong to her family as well as Jung Daehyun’s and argues that the couple should not always spend them in Busan. Her words challenge the assumption that a wife’s labor and time are automatically owed to her husband’s family. Conflict Without Resolution Jung Daehyun is shocked and rushes to remove Kim Jiyoung from the room. His father rebukes her for speaking disrespectfully, while Suhyun privately acknowledges that the family has been inconsiderate. The confrontation leaves the family unsettled rather than producing an immediate agreement. It makes visible the conflict between customary family loyalty and the unequal labor expected from a daughter-in-law, while also signaling how serious Kim Jiyoung’s altered episodes have become.

Kim Jiyoung’s early childhood, 1980s

1980s, before Kim Jiyoung’s brother is born

2012, marriage registration

2012–2014, early married life

秋夕（Chuseok）, 2015