Abstract

This qualitative study explored how contemporary Korean adult children perceive, practice, and psychologically experience filial piety. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten adults aged from their 20s to 60s, yielding 370 raw meaning units. After excluding overlapping or structurally irrelevant items, 87 concepts were identified and categorized into 23 sub-themes and six overarching themes: “Affection Grown in Inter-generational Love,” “Filial Duty as a Moral Obligation,” “Filial Practices Supporting Well-being and Stability,” “Ambivalence Toward Filial Piety,” “Regret for Unfulfilled Filial Acts,” and “New Filial Piety Coexisting with Tradition and Modernity.” Findings reveal that while traditional filial values remain cognitively salient, their practical application has shifted toward more flexible and emotionally attuned forms. Participants reported complex emotional responses-such as guilt, ambivalence, and pride-shaped by generational transitions and social realities. This study provides a foundational psychological framework of filial piety in modern Korea and serves as a basis for developing quantitative instruments to measure contemporary filial attitudes and behaviors.