"Hakbu-hyeong, Yangja, Cheop"... Disappearing from Daily Life but Still Present in Legal and Administrative Terms

Seoul Foundation of Women and Family Releases Gender Equality Language Dictionary Season 3
Replacing Terms: 'Low Birthrate' to 'Low Birth', 'Unmarried Mother' to 'Non-married Mother', 'Single Father/Mother' to 'Single Parent'
Calls for Removal of Outdated Terms Like 'Person with a Concubine' and 'Female Entertainment Worker'

[Asia Economy, Reporter Jo Inkyung] "Why are gender-discriminatory terms that are rarely used in schools or workplaces still present in legal and administrative language?"

On September 1, the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family unveiled the contents of the 'Seoul Gender Equality Language Dictionary Season 3', which was created in celebration of 'Gender Equality Week' from September 1 to 7. The project aimed to replace gender-discriminatory language remaining in laws, administrative terms, and official forms closely related to daily life, based on citizen suggestions. A total of 1,864 proposals were received from 821 citizens, and after review by an advisory committee of Korean language and gender experts, words that should be prioritized for sharing and dissemination, as well as legal provisions that should be deleted altogether, were selected.

Among participating citizens, there was a suggestion to replace the term 'Hakbu-hyeong' (meaning 'father or older brother of a student'), which is no longer used in schools but still appears in legal language, with 'Hakbumo' ('parent of a student'). The term 'Hakbu-hyeong' has been criticized for implying that only fathers or older brothers can be guardians of students. The term 'low birthrate', used by local governments and the National Assembly to explain policy, has already been replaced by 'low birth' in many contexts, and citizens suggested that 'low birth' should also be used in legal terms such as the 'Framework Act on Low Birthrate and Aging Society'.

As family culture becomes less male-centered, there were also suggestions to change terms such as 'ja', 'yangja', and 'chinsaengja' (meaning 'child', 'adopted son', and 'biological son') used in the Civil Act and the Act on Registration of Family Relations to 'janyeo', 'yangjanyeo', and 'chinsaengjanyeo' (meaning 'child', 'adopted child', and 'biological child'). Additionally, it was proposed that 'yumocha' ('nanny cart') be replaced with 'yua-cha' ('infant cart'). As the use of 'bihon' ('not married'), which simply describes the unmarried status, is increasing in place of 'mihon' ('not yet married'), it was suggested that terms in laws such as the Single-Parent Family Support Act and the Rules on Registration of Family Relations should also be updated accordingly.

The term 'misuga' ('premature baby'), which refers to babies born slightly earlier than the expected due date, was identified as a discriminatory term needing improvement. It was suggested that it be replaced with 'josana' ('preterm baby'), which more accurately reflects the meaning. The term 'donongjamaegyeolyeon' ('urban-rural sisterhood relationship'), used for exchanges between cities and rural areas, was criticized for both reinforcing gender stereotypes and expressing a hierarchical relationship between urban and rural areas. Citizens proposed replacing it with 'sanghogyeolyeon' ('mutual partnership'), which better reflects the idea of regions or organizations forming friendly relationships to help or interact with each other.

There were also calls to delete outdated and discriminatory legal provisions and to improve legal and administrative forms. The current Enforcement Decree of the Food Sanitation Act defines the scope of entertainment workers as 'female entertainment workers who drink with customers or entertain them with singing or dancing', which not only reflects a gender-discriminatory perception by designating entertainment workers as female, but also raises concerns about legitimizing sexual harassment and exploitation by seeming to recognize the occupation itself.

In the case of the Rules on Personnel Affairs of Military Service, one of the criteria for unsuitability for active service is 'a person who keeps a concubine', which was also pointed out as a gender-discriminatory phrase that does not reflect the reality that the concubinage system has been abolished.

Other suggestions included replacing 'pyeonbu' ('single father') and 'pyeonmo' ('single mother') in legal language with 'hanbumo' ('single parent'), and improving the classification of relationships with the head of household from 'self-wife-child' to 'self-spouse-child', among others.

Of the 821 people who submitted suggestions for this season of the Seoul Gender Equality Language Dictionary, 72.5% were women and 27.5% were men. By age group, those in their 30s participated the most at 37.2%, followed by those in their 40s at 25.8%, and those in their 20s at 21.1%.

Baek Misoon, President of the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, said, "While social demands and public awareness have increased, gender-discriminatory language still remains in laws and regulations. We hope that these citizen suggestions will help make legal language more gender-equal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.