For Kim Ji-hwan, a 30-something office worker, punishing work hours and a heavy workload allowed him barely any time see his kids back home. 

Kim felt that he was growing apart from his kids, which led him to consider taking paternity leave, despite concerns over financial problems and his reputation at the office. 

“But I knew that this moment when I can be with my children will never come back,” he said.

Kim is one of some 2,200 fathers who have chosen to take paternity leave in Korea this year, fighting traditional gender roles that have long deterred Korean men from taking paid time off to participate in child care. 

According to a survey released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Tuesday, the number of fathers taking paternity leave in the first half of this year stood at 2,212, up 40.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. 

Behind the trend is the social atmosphere underscoring an importance of shared responsibility between men and women for family affairs and child care amid women’s rising economic power, an official from the ministry said. 

Still, it only accounted for 5 percent of those taking time off for child care, highlighting a bigger burden on Korean women than men in raising children. 

The total number of Koreans on paternity or maternity leave saw an increase of 15.8 percent in the first half from 37,373 the previous year to 43,272.

However, workers for large companies were more likely to grab the opportunity for parental leave than those belonging to small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Nearly 56 percent of the men who took child care leave in the first half were employed at conglomerates with more than 300 staff members. 

Also, 65 percent of the fathers on paternity leave were concentrated in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, where most of the conglomerates’ headquarters are located. 

SMEs, however, were more prone to adopt the policy that reduces working hours and pays less for male workers as an alternative to parental leave. 

Out of 992 laborers who received a smaller paycheck in return for slashed working hours, 76 percent belonged to SMEs. 

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)