The purpose of this study is to examine the current status of children-at-risk and child protection systems in Korea, China, and Japan. The international comparative study on the child protection systems among the three countries focuses on similarities and differences in public protection systems for children. Based on the comparative framework from Gilbert et al.(2011)’s categorization of child welfare systems, this study compares the child protection systems with a focus on the relationships among children, families, community, and society. This study utilizes previous literature and a variety of administrative and public data from the three countries.

This study finds all of the three countries are confronting social issues related to low fertility and population ageing in a similar fashion. For them, to promote children’s welfare by strengthening universal child protection systems could be an effective policy response in the long term. Although the three countries share a strong historical background of Confucius Familism, their child protection systems tend to take a more liberal approach towards the child protection systems based on western individualism. In particular, China has developed a child protection system with a narrow focus on children with special needs including orphans and disabled children. Korea has established broader child protection systems without state responsibility. Thus, the child protection system became fragmented and needs to be integrated with public responsibility guaranteed. In contrast, Japanese child protection system tends to be more universal social protection system with dual gateways under local governments, focusing on child protection and family preservation with shared responsibilities between the state and families.