Post-natal "hibernation"

In Korea, it’s customary for new mothers to rest for about a month or two after the birth. This “san-hu-jo-ri” (산후조리, 産後調理) translates literally as “post-natal care of health.” It varies in length by class and generation.

For noble families in the 19th century, it probably approached the ideal 100 days (백일, 百日). However, for SY’s mother, who had her children in the impoverished, post-war, agricultural Korean countryside, it lasted just one week. These days, it’s longer, but out of practicality it’s not often longer than two months.

There are lots of special rules and foods for mothers during this period. According to one schedule, simple showers are only allowed after the fourth day, with full showers permitted after six. Among the required foods are pumpkin (it absorbs water, decreasing bloating), gom-guk (곰국, made from beef marrow, it has a lot of protein), and seaweed soup (me-yeok-guk, 미역국, for the iodine).

Traditionally, the grandmother takes care of the mother while she recovers from the birth. These days that has become less possible, and people are more wealthy, so other measures have developed in the past twenty years.

For the very well-to-do, there is the “sanhujori-won” (산후조리원, 産後調理院), which is like a hotel for new mothers. Attendants not only take care of the mothers, they take care of the baby whenever it wakes up, allowing mothers full nights of rest. Of course, this is not cheap – a week runs about $1,000.

Those with less income can opt for a doumi (dō-oo-me), literally, an “assistant” who comes over to the house six days a week. (Strangely, in Korean it’s spelled 도우미, not “도움이.”) Typically, they run about $600 per week, though the government provides support for lower income families through the health care system.

That it’s through the health care system is key, because through a strange set of circumstances, SY and I qualify for two weeks of practically free government-sponsored doumi assistance.

From what I can tell, here’s how the system works:

• Qualification for doumi assistance is based on one’s monthly health insurance premium, which varies according to one’s means.
  
• When possible, one’s health insurance premium is based on income. Employers calculate the required premium based on an employee’s income, and they pay half. The employee pays the other half. Of course, those with high incomes have to pay a high premium, and those with low incomes pay a low premium.
  
• To prevent the non-working rich from getting disproportionately low rates, districts are responsible for determining premia for the self-employed or jobless. A district will typically look at significant assets such a registered car or the assessed value of a house, so a “jobless” person with a Porshe and a million-dollar would still have to pay a high premium.

Now, as it applies to us, it works like this:

• My school classifies me as an “independent contractor,” so they don’t pay my health insurance premium. Since my premium doesn’t get determined by income, it’s up to the district to set the rate.
  
• When the district looks at our case, they see we have no significant assets – neither a house nor a car. They then determine that we are not rich, nor anywhere close, and set the lowest premium for us.
  
• When determining our doumi assistance, the people in the health care system look at our insurance premium (the lowest possible) and allow the maximum benefit – two weeks.

So it’s strange, but that’s my best guess about how it works. I suppose, since my school withholds income taxes, that it’s possible for the government could look up my income via my registration ID number, but for some reason the district office either cannot or doesn’t want to.

That’s fine with us – we welcome any assistance the government offers – but there’s another question that has come up as a result: where to we put all these people? The doumi work from 9 to 6, six days a week. With my atypical work schedule, I work in the early mornings and evenings, but not during the day. I would get home about an hour after the doumi arrives, and stay for about five hours before going to the evening job.

That’s five hours with the four of us (SY, the baby, the doumi, and me) packed into our studio apartment, and me doing nothing but trying to stay out of the way. (That’s got to be a little awkward.) Then, after the doumi leaves, and SY is by herself for another four.

It seems best for SY to do about a month of her sanhujori at her parents’ house, and then return during to our apartment after that. The doumi will be with her during the day, and her parents during the evening. After class, I can spend the rest of the morning with them, and then head home for lunch before walking to work at the school.

Only two more months...