While interest in fathers’ uptake of leave is increasing internationally, the extant literature on fathers’ leave primarily documents Western, especially Nordic contexts. Against such a backdrop, my thesis investigates the determinants and aftermaths of fathers’ uptake of leave in South Korea using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data and methods. I focus on to what extent fathers’ leave contributes to equalising the gendered division of unpaid labour, elevating childbearing intentions, and reconciliation of childcare and employment.

The first paper gives a general comparison of leave-takers and non-takers based on a national survey. I find fathers’ employment in the private sector or large private sector companies to be the most salient sociodemographic determinant of their uptake of leave, followed by mothers’ bargaining power. I further find that dual-earner fathers who take leave contribute significantly more to housework and childcare than their counterparts. Moreover, the mothers of leave-taking fathers report lower intentions for a second child and significantly greater work-family conflict.

The second paper assesses whether fathers’ uptake of parental leave contributes to a more equitable division of unpaid labour based on original survey data. I find that it is mostly the selection of fathers already involved in housework and developmental childcare which explains most of the difference between fathers who have taken leave and those who have not. There is only limited evidence to suggest that very long leaves of one year or longer could potentially make fathers more involved in the case of routine childcare.

The third paper inquires whether fathers’ leave is pro-natalist by exploring the processes and mechanisms by which fathers’ uptake of parental leave impacts intentions for additional children. Both my quantitative and qualitative analysis confirms that fathers’ parental leave has an anti- rather than pro-natalist effect. Findings demonstrate that in countries with poor support for the reconciliation of employment and childcare, equalising the gendered division of parental leave alone may not be sufficient to see a reversal in its fertility trends.

The fourth paper studies how norms about childcare and working hours shape fathers’ decisions to take (long) leave as well as their work-family balance after leave. My analysis of interview and blog data finds that fathers are often pushed to take (long) leave as a last resort in an absence of more desirable alternatives to care for a young child. These conditions continue to constrain parents after the end of the fathers’ leave and limit the otherwise more radical impact that fathers’ uptake of leave could have on work-family balance and gender equality.

Overall, I argue that in a context characterised by high levels of work-family conflict and where a minority of fathers take leave, fathers’ leave plays a rather limited role in contributing to a more gender-egalitarian work-family balance, at least for the time being. My thesis extends the empirical literature on fathers’ leave to an East Asian country based on the utilisation of original and multi- data and mixed methods and demonstrates the importance of accounting for context in designing, implementing, and researching leave policy.