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Film 'Visitation Rights' shines light on single parents' struggles in Korea

Published: 01 Jan. 2025, 12:27

Director Lee Joo-ah [JOONGANG ILBO]

“Isn’t it more important for children to grow up feeling loved than have discussions about money, like child support or inheritance rights?” director Lee Joo-ah emphasized as she introduced her debut film “Visitation Rights,” which premiered on Dec. 25, 2024.

As director Lee pointed out, while Korea’s birthrate is plummeting at an unparalleled rate globally, the number of children born to unmarried parents is increasing as the years go by. According to the National Statistics Office, among the 230,082 births in 2023, 4.7 percent, or 10,900, happened out of wedlock. The figure went up sharply from 2.2 percent in 2018. A total of 26,021 single parents were recorded in 2022 by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but experts say that there are a lot of cases where unmarried parents did not register their children in their family records. So, it is estimated that the actual number likely exceeds 30,000.

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Still from documentary film "Visitation Rights" [FILM DABIN]

While attending the Korea University of Media Arts, Lee decided to turn this issue into a film. The resulting full-length film “Visitation Rights” captures the journey of a father striving to meet his child. The film was selected for various creative support programs, entered the Cannes Film Festival in February last year and garnered praise from critics both domestically and internationally. It has now been released to the general audience on the silver screen.

Contemplating the social situation of traditional families collapsing from the perspective of the younger generation, Lee particularly focused on the visitation rights of single parents and their children.

“What’s more important than the label 'honoeja' [a child born out of wedlock], is the 'right to be loved,'” Lee said. “In Europe and the United States, where there are many children born out of wedlock, society is focused on children receiving love from both of their parents. In Europe, shared custody is the norm for this reason. In contrast, custody is usually given to one parent in Korea, resulting in more and more children growing up without properly meeting their other parent."

Lee emphasized that children born out of wedlock in Korea should also have the right to be equally loved.

"It is time for more serious social discussions and attention on this matter before it is too late," she said.

To hear more about her debut film, the JoongAng Sunday, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, sat down with Lee recently for an interview. The following are edited excerpts from the interview. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q. The title of the movie is unique. Did you come up with it?

A. Yes. The original title was “I Want to Live as a Father.” I have been interested in the surge of single parents for several years. While exploring this topic, I realized that there were a lot of films with single-mother protagonists. However, there were very few single-father protagonists. This prompted me to produce a movie focusing on single fathers. However, during the production process, the children born to these parents caught my attention. So, the focus of the film shifted to the children, and the title was changed accordingly.

Still from documentary film "Visitation Rights" [FILM DABIN]

Isn’t visitation a parental right?

It is both the right of parents and children, especially for children born to single parents. These children, who are often chosen by one parent from birth because their parents are unmarried, grow up separated from either their mother or their father. However, it is a fundamental right for children to meet both parents and receive love from both of them. Visitation rights should also be viewed from this perspective.

How does the issue of visitation rights affect single parents?

First of all, it is not easy to establish paternity. For this reason, the protagonist of the film had to start with DNA testing and even go to court. During my research for the production of the film, I found many cases where the children of single parents had not had their births registered. Some single mothers were reluctant to leave a birth record, and in some cases, the other parent refused to consent to the registration. In reality, the birthrate is declining, while the number of children born out of wedlock is rising. There needs to be systemic reforms to solve this issue.

How has actor Jung Woo-sung's case affected the issue?

Still from documentary film "Visitation Rights" [FILM DABIN]

While it is positive that a lot of people are interested in this topic, it is unfortunate that the focus is primarily on the issue of nurture cost and inheritance. Actually, it is more important to create an environment where children can grow up fully loved, but thoughts and constructive discussions on this issue are still insufficient.

Why is the term 'honoeja' controversial?

While preparing for the film, I looked into European cases and asked locals to introduce single parents, but everyone seemed confused. In Europe, single parents are common, and there’s no term equivalent to “honoeja” and people don’t distinguish children based on their parent’s marital status in daily life. As time passes, I believe this terminology will naturally fade in our society.

BY HWANG KUN-KANG [[email protected]]