A Cultural Analysis of Diaper Changing in South Korea

A couple of weekends ago Blessing and I went over to my co-teacher’s house for dinner.  We met her husband (who tried valiantly to speak the very little English he knew) and her adorable son.  Somehow during conversation, it was revealed that neither my co-teacher nor my husband had ever changed a diaper before having their son.  Having changed truckloads of them since the rough age of 12, I was shocked.  Then, Blessing told me that he had never changed a diaper.  Again, shocked.  But then I decided I had to take a look at diaper changing from a cultural perspective, so here it is.

From what I have ascertained from my key informant here in South Korea, my co-teacher, babysitting is a not a common practice.   Unless a couple lives close to either of their parents, once they have a child they are bound to them.  My co-teacher and her husband have not had a night or day out by themselves in 2 years!  Another shock.  Upon hearing this, I offered to babysit for free to let she and her husband have a date night; I have yet to be taken up on it.  Babysitting is the main avenue through which I have come to change diapers and since it is not a common practice here, there is a diminished chance that a Korean will change the number of diapers I have prior to having their own child,

Furthermore, the family structure affects diaper-changing probability.  While I have never changed a sibling’s diaper and I don’t have any nieces or nephews I know that this is how many United Statesians come to change diapers.  My "in-depth research" reveals that it is unlikely for Koreans to change a diaper in this way.  Most South Koreans have one, sometimes two, siblings and they are generally very close in age; thus, the chance of changing you sibling’s diaper is lessened.  Moreover, because siblings are close in age, the time at which they begin to have children is also near each other.  Hence, there is a smaller chance that you will change a niece or nephew’s diaper. 

In conclusion, when you compare the circumstances under which myself and many fellow United Statesians have come to change baby’s diapers to the lack of such circumstances in South Korea, it becomes more understandable why my co-teacher and her husband had never changed a diaper.  From a lack of babysitting to a reduced chance of changing a sibling’s or niece and nephew’s diaper, Koreans don’t learn how to do it until they have to. 

By the way, apparently while in the hospital after giving birth, my co-teacher and her husband had to change the baby’s diaper without a nurse’s help.  They had no idea how and just took off the dirty one, wrapped a blanket around him and waited until the morning for the nurse to show them how to put on a diaper.  I am glad I am experienced if I have a child of my own.