As of late November last year, industrial complexes across Korea housed approximately 60,000 women and 17,000 men. Most of these workers are teenagers and young adults in their early twenties. While instances of moral transgressions within these areas might appear to be isolated issues, experts argue that sensationalizing them as grave and provocative stories serves to obscure more significant social problems. 

Reports on the rising number of teenage unwed mothers have recently sparked public concern. According to the Christian Adoption Program of Korea’s counseling center, 21% of the 348 cases they handled in 1973 (74 individuals) involved teenage mothers. Similarly, the Holt Adoption Program reported that 38.7% of the 469 cases they counseled involved teenagers. Among these, one-third were unemployeed, followed by domestic helpers, factory laborers, and restaurant staff.

Female factory workers often approach unwed mother counseling centers or children’s counseling facilities out of sheer necessity. Experts point to two main reasons for this trend: first, low wages prevent many from affording abortion or childbirth services, prompting them to seek assistance such as free deliveries or subsidized childbirth expenses. Second, adoption programs provide an alternative to criminal acts such as child abandonment, encouraging these women to place their babies for adoption instead. 

Rev. Jisong Cho of Korea Urban Industrial Mission noted that while women from more affluent backgrounds may engage in moral decline by choice, women workers in industrial areas often face coercion. This includes subtle advances from male supervisors or manipulation by delinquents, creating a pattern of forced transgressions. Rev. Cho emphasized that many women workers are hardworking and thrifty, warning against reports that portray them as uniformly immoral. Such biased reporting, he argued, risks amplifying relatively minor social issues and creating unnecessary alarm. Rev. Cho urged for the establishment of counseling centers within factories to address workers’ grievances and provide solutions by showing compassion.