Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

A man, cheating on his wife, lives with a concubine and when a child is born, he puts the child on his mistress� family register.

It is the reality of the 21st century Korea.

An elderly woman in her 60s visited me, saying that her husband has lived with a concubine for the last 20 years. He put the concubine�s child on his family register without getting consent from his wife, as if the child were her own baby. When the fact was revealed, he left her to live with his mistress. While the woman was forced to take care of his parents who were suffering from dementia, he only sent a small amount of money and never came to see her. Recently, the husband has insisted that they should get a divorce and even threatened to sell the house. He bought a house for his mistress but did not transfer any property to his wife.

A young 30-something woman with two little children found that her husband was living with a concubine and registered his illegitimate child on his family register in clandestine. When she went to her mother-in-law and revealed the fact, she said, "Man will not resist any women who come to him." In our society, patriarchy has been deep-rooted. Such patriarchal way of thinking is internalized within women that women themselves inflict sufferings on fellow females. In legal suits for such issues, a lawyer on the man�s side addresses a concubine as "second wife." I raise an objection to this. In this monogamous country, there is no second wife but only "concubine," or "mistress."
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2003112429908

[weatherman]

Look, if a man is going to take a second wife or a concubine, he better be able to afford both. Trying to have both without any money is imposable. Where as in Korean society, he might be able to make it work if loaded, I don't think this would go over well in the states, except maybe Utah.

[prairieboy]

I thought that this kind of behaviour was criminal in Korea. So, this begs the question, is it worth registering your illegitimate child when it's proof positive of being an adulterer and criminal under Korean law?

I'd be interested to know what happened after all of this was revealed.

[posco's trumpet]

[jaebea]

Can't DNA testing come in to play here?

If the wife's DNA isn't present in the child, but the father's is, then surely you could build a rather convincing case to support accusations of hanky-panky.

I guess you'd need some sort of court order for that.

jae.

[just because]

I like the sound of the word Concubine. I think the Chinese Emperors had 3 600 concubines. Lucky bugger.
In a more serious note...adultury is a felony but as with all things here, if you have money or an influential friend you are set.