Multiple Temporalities of State-Building and Care in South Korea

State-building in South Korea since liberation in 1945 has seen some successes. However, from a care perspective—considering that women and families bear the primary burden of care responsibilities, the discrimination and disadvantages caregivers face both at home and in the labor market, and the reality that few are willing to engage in marriage, childbirth, or caregiving—it is challenging to evaluate the overall success of state-building in South Korea to date. This article highlights the diverse temporalities that have emerged in modern state-building in South Korea since 1945 and examines how these various temporalities serve as structural constraints on care. Amid the compressed timelines of state-building, I analyze how care is systematically overlooked, silenced, and marginalized; how it is devalued; how it is relegated to women’s and family work; and how caregivers experience discrimination and disadvantages, alongside the ideologies, norms, and socio-economic and political conditions and circumstances that contribute to these issues.