How Do Wives and Husbands in Dual-Earner Couples in Korea Coordinate Work Hours and Childcare?¹.

This article examines how dual-earner couples in Korea coordinate their work schedules to manage childcare responsibilities, focusing on whether they employ "tag-team parenting," a strategy where parents desynchronize work hours so one can care for children while the other works. Using data from the 2019 Korean Time Use Survey, the study finds that fathers typically leave for work earlier and return later than mothers, who adjust their schedules to spend more time on childcare. Although mothers still bear the primary responsibility for childcare, couples tend to stagger their work hours rather than work concurrently, allowing at least one parent to be available for children. The analysis reveals that increased work hours by one parent reduce their childcare time but correspond with a slight increase in the other parent's childcare involvement, highlighting a coordinated but gendered division of labor shaped by Korea's rigid work schedules and prevailing gender norms.