From many dramas and real-life cases, we observe many families that live apart solely in consideration of the children’s education. While it is common enough to be no longer “revolutionary,” it is accused of being one of the causes of the increasing divorce rate in Korea. However, this issue has not been widely discussed because it has become a social convention in Korean society. Is this convention one we should follow?

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he mother lives with the children in Seoul or other major city, and the father lives in a satellite city and meets the family on weekends only. This is a typical type of family described with the term “weekend family.” The main cause of this phenomenon is that Koreans generally believe the top education resources are centered in the major cities, and since many children with good academic performance live in major cities, it is necessary for a child to receive their education in these cities if they want to be successful. However, is education really the top priority if we consider the overall wellness of the children, and by extent, the wellness of the family?

If we think of the children’s academic performance, moving to a big city might be the correct choice. However, there is more to education than teaching children to perform well in class. Family education, or simply the education given to the children by their parents, is also a very important factor in a child’s growth. The reason is that since there are more than 30 or even 40 students in one class, it is very difficult for one teacher to teach the students individually in terms of humanism. If we look at the specific type of family in which the father lives separately from the children, the children would be growing up in an environment with very less fatherhood. It is widely known and scientifically proven that fatherhood has many positive effects on a child’s cognitive ability and social skills. A study which examined 137 children for ten years since they were infants concluded that infants with more involved fathers performed better than chi ldren with less involved fathers. The ways that they performed better included higher IQs, better linguistic and cognitive abilities, and a higher level of academic readiness. They were also more patient and could handle stress and frustration associated with schools. Not to mention that weekend families could put the happiness and future of the whole family at stake. Korea currently has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, and it recorded its peak in 2002 at 47.4 percent. The common reasons for divorce include the difference in the couple’s personalities, and difficulties regarding the family’s economic status. While bearing common factors for divorce, weekend families have to live with the fact that they have less chance to communicate and adjust to each other, which could increase the possibility for divorce.

For the sake of children’s humanistic education, to give a child positive influence from both parents, it is the parents’ responsibility to put the integrity of the family before education resources. Otherwise, there is a chance that a child who grows up in weekend families could become a good student, but not a good citizen. Therefore, in consideration of the family’s current and future happiness, the integrity of the family seems to be the more logical choice to make.