Abstract

This study focused on the inner experience of non-marital mothers who play multiple roles while rearing their children in Korea, describing their living world as it is and interpreting the multiple meaning they experience. This study applied phenomenological research methods to stop judging and understanding existing preconceptions to focus on the subjective world of study participants. Among single mothers who work while raising their children, three participants who voluntarily agreed to research interviews. It was intended to derive research results through a circular analysis process conducted simultaneously with interviews. According to the study, the meaning of experience in everyday life experienced by single mothers in Korea was as follows. First, she was making her own decisions and choices on her own, while experiencing herself as a sailor looking for a lighthouse in the sea of anxiety mixed with fear rather than joy, and second, she was struggling alone as a novice guardian. Third, sublimating to an effort to communicate with the world's gaze by turning the eyes of the uncomfortable world into a lubricant, the fourth was the wisdom they met over all the big and small waves: they were on their journey to find their own identity and become an Adult with their child. Furthermore, based on the major subjects, we discussed the female psychology and counseling implications.