• Headline: Life Advice: Ask Me Anything
• Subheading: Dear Abby, America's beacon for troubled teens
• Source: ​Chosun Ilbo
  
• Date of Publication: December 12, 1967
• Summary: 

"Dear Abby," America's beacon of guidance for teenagers, offers straightforward advice on matters like marriage and life’s many dilemmas. Readers who have found clarity through her words often write back with gratitude—sometimes dozens of thank-you letters arrive each day, some even including small donations. Abby has used these funds to support a charitable foundation for unwed mothers. Her success lies in her approach: she avoids preaching or moralizing, instead addressing issues with common sense and relatable wisdom, always urging readers to think practically. Abby, a model homemaker married to a successful businessman for 28 years, is an active figure well into her forties, with two grown children and an energetic commitment to philanthropy. Perhaps it's this genuine dedication to helping others that continues to expand her readership every day..  

• Archiving Note:  

What the 1960s Emergence of the Term "Unwed Mother" Signifies

The term "unwed mother" was virtually nonexistent before the 1960s, with a clear emergence only around this time. According to the Naver News Library, it first appeared in a December 12, 1967 article describing a charity fund created by Pauline Friedman Phillips, widely known in the U.S. for her Dear Abby column, to support unwed mothers.

The introduction of this new term to describe unmarried women who had given birth signals that they began to be recognized as a distinct social group around this period. Reflecting this shift, South Korea’s Christian Adoption Program of Korea initiated the nation’s first counseling services for unwed mothers in 1969. Then, in 1972, four major government-approved international adoption agencies followed by establishing similar programs. Through these counseling services, many unwed mothers relinquished their children, who were labeled as orphans and placed for adoption both domestically and internationally. The 1970s and 1980s subsequently saw record numbers of adoptions for children born to unwed mothers, marking the highest rates since the Korean War.

Photo:

The earliest article using the word "unwed mother" retrieved from South Korean search engine Naver's News Library, titled "Life Advice for Every Question" (December 12, 1967).

CLICK the article below to view the original scanned article as it appeared in print, complete with text and images, on the Naver News Library, which archives Korean newspapers from the 1920s to the 1990s. For easier reading, click “텍스트 보기” (View text) in the top right corner to open a text-only window.

Note: Articles are in Korean, and English translations are not provided in the library.

Photo:
Mrs. Abby, Winning Hearts with Life Advice.

The English summary and translation of this article is provided by UMI4AA.