Lack of support pushes athletes to choose between sport and family

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Published: 24 May. 2023, 17:08 Updated: 24 May. 2023, 17:16

Lack of support pushes athletes to choose between sport and family

Jung Dae-young with her daughter Kim Bo-min [JUNG DAE-YOUNG]

"I was lucky enough to have both a woman head coach and assistant coach when I gave birth to my daughter," recalls volleyball player Jung Dae-young. "They understood the situation and helped me to continue playing."

Jung, 42, is one of a relatively small number of women athletes that have been able to continue playing in Korea after giving birth. In a country where child care is still regularly seen as a woman's job, the support needed to both physically recover and return to the sport and balance the commitment of being both an athlete and a parent is often severely lacking.

"Head coach Chang Yoon-hee had also given birth while she was a player and had returned to the court for a year. She understood what I was going through."

Jung skipped a season for the birth of her daughter Kim Bo-min in 2010 but returned to the court four months after giving birth. With the support of the GS Caltex Seoul Kixx, Jung signed a new three-year contract and has not looked back since.

Thirteen years down the line, Jung averaged 0.7 blocks per game last season, the third-highest in the V League.

Jung Dae-young, right, attacks during a 2022-23 championship game against the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on April 6. [NEWS1]

Although she was successfully able to transition back onto the court, Jung still struggles to balance work and family. Despite the country's small size, athletes in Korea are still expected to spend extended periods of time on the road and sometimes stay in dormitories with their teammates. Jung's mother helps her look after Bo-min during the season when she often spends weeks away with the team.

"I sometimes wish that my mom was with me, but I do call her twice a day," said Bo-min, who is already a volleyball player in her own right. "I hope my mom continues her career as long as possible."

While Jung was able to get the support she needed to return to the court, many women athletes choose to put off having a child due to concerns about how it will impact their career. According to a JoongAng Ilbo study, only seven of 617 professional women athletes in Korea have a child. For the country with the world's lowest fertility rate — at 0.78 as of 2022 — that is a major concern.

Kim Ja-in trains at Rock Land Climbing in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, on April 21. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Sport climber Kim Ja-in and her husband, National Assembly Rep. Oh Young-hwan, are trying to do something about that.

Kim gave birth to her daughter in 2021, attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympics shortly after as a commentator rather than a competitor.

"I eat one meal a day to stay light and agile," Kim said. "I only weighed 40.8 kilograms (90 pounds). I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to have a child."

Like Jung, Kim took four months out to give birth to her daughter. She also finds that rather than hindering her career, having a child provides extra motivation.

"I did pull-ups at home with my daughter, who weighs 11 kilograms in a baby carrier," Kim said. "I don't want to have to one day tell her that I retired from the sport because she was born."

Kim recently regained her spot on the Korean national team despite rupturing a ligament in her finger.

"I cried when I was told that it would take six to eight weeks to recover," Kim said. "But I still competed after getting an [intramuscular] injection. I'm back on the national team, and I can compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. I did not give up just because I had a child."

Like Jung, Kim also relies on her mother and mother-in-law to help look after her daughter when she is training. But the family is working to change that — Oh tabled a law in the National Assembly in April that would allow men more freedom to flexibly use paternity leave and family leave to help better support their families.

Kim Ja-in with her daughter [JOONGANG ILBO]

But while Jung and Kim were both able to successfully return to their respective sports, many athletes worry that the lack of support and the need to balance work and family will quickly drive them out of the game.

"Yim Myung-ok and Bae Yoo-na are both married, but I know they are delaying having children," Jung said about her former teammates at Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass. "The competition in professional sports is inevitable, but your confidence drops after giving birth.

"Kim Hae-ran [of the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders] waited until her mid-30s to give birth, and that came with its own problems. I think if you have a plan, having children when you are physically and mentally fit is not only good for you but also for the child.

"Bo-min is my biggest motivation. If I didn't have her, I think I would have stopped at around 33 or 34."

BY KIM HYO-KYUNG, PARK RIN AND PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]