(De-)Stigmatizing Teen Moms: Contentious <i>Teenage Parents</i> and Policy Shift Reflecting After Neoliberalism in South Korea

This paper examines the portrayal of teen mothers in the South Korean reality TV show Teenage Parents , and the accompanying online discourses, as well as their relationship with welfare policies. Drawing on frameworks of intensive mothering, postfeminist neoliberal subjectivity, and the concept of after neoliberalism, the analysis reveals a contradictory understanding of teen mothers, with the show intending to de-stigmatize teenage parenthood but often failing to achieve positive promotion. Viewers also show similar contention. The contradiction itself, however, represents an overall move toward accepting diverse forms of family. The visible contention reflects “after neoliberalism” in the South Korean context, where welfare strategies gradually transition from self-governing activities based on surveillance and discipline to adopting more supportive approaches.