Parents’ Day: History and evolution

May 8 is Parents' Day in South Korea, a day to honor and thank one's parents. However, it wasn't always called Parents' Day. On March 24, 1973, the South Korean Cabinet officially changed the name from Mother's Day to Parents' Day. This change came in response to repeated complaints asking, "Why is there no Father's Day?" The government ultimately decided to broaden the scope to honor both parents. So, when did Mother's Day first begin?

Korea’s original Mother's Day was influenced by the United States. In 1914, the U.S. designated the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day. Its origin traces back to a 1908 church service in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother. The event spread nationwide. Her mother, Ann Jarvis, had long dreamed of establishing a "Mother's Friendship Day" but never succeeded. Anna fulfilled that dream and successfully institutionalized the holiday. The U.S. also observes Father's Day on the third Sunday of June, which began in 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd initiated it to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised five children alone.

The concept of Mother's Day was first introduced in Korea through a May 16, 1925, article in The Dong-A Ilbo. The article described how Americans wore white carnations "like snowflakes" on their chests to show gratitude and comfort to their mothers. In May of the following year, the paper further reported that people wore red carnations if their mother was alive and white ones if she had passed away.

In 1932, The Dong-A Ilbo ran an editorial calling for the commemoration of Mother's Day in Korea, sparking public interest. At the time, due to limited knowledge about the holiday's origins, some descriptions included a mix of fact and fiction. Even so, the idea began to spread. It wasn’t until after Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule that Mother's Day was formally observed, with the Korea Women’s Association taking the lead. The Seoul Metropolitan Government held an official ceremony on May 8, 1952, and in 1955, the day was formally designated through a Cabinet resolution.

Some have claimed that Mother's Day originated from the funeral of independence activist Jo Shin-seong, but this is incorrect. She passed away on May 5, 1953, while the first official Mother's Day event had already occurred in 1952. Choi Eun-hee, a journalist who championed the Mother's Day movement, wrote a column in the May 8, 1955, edition of The Chosun Ilbo, in which she recalled, "Four years ago, people mocked, asking why there was no Father’s Day," confirming that Mother's Day was already established before then.

Jo Shin-seong was an independence activist from Uiju, North Pyongan Province. After losing her husband, she studied in Japan, formed a close friendship with Ahn Chang-ho, and served as principal of Jinmyeong Girls' School. She played a key role in anti-Japanese armed resistance and women's movements. After Korea’s liberation, she rejected efforts by North Korea to win her over. She moved to the South at 74, later serving as vice president of the Korea Women’s Association. However, having crossed the border alone at an advanced age, she lived in poverty and eventually died at 82 in a nursing home in Busan. Although she was a great independence activist, she did not live a life characterized by motherhood.

Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day, was frustrated when the holiday became commercialized. She even tried to abolish it. We should also strive to ensure that Parents' Day in Korea does not become merely a tool for commercial purposes.