Negotiating an Unretiring Calling: Retirement as a Gendered and Relational Process among Korean Women in Ministry

Retirement among women in ministry remains underexplored in both retirement and religious research, particularly in non-Western contexts where institutional support systems are fragmented and uneven. This study examines how Korean women in ministry experience and negotiate retirement as a complex life transition shaped by vocation, gender, and institutional conditions. Using a grounded theory approach, this study draws on in-depth interviews with 10 Korean women in ministry, including pastors, associate pastors, and missionaries. The findings conceptualize retirement as a dynamic and negotiated process shaped by the interaction of vocational identity, institutional structures, and relational contexts. A central process emerged in which participants navigated the tension between an enduring sense of calling and insufficient institutional support. Retirement was often triggered by unplanned events and further shaped by gendered life trajectories and relational support systems. Participants adopted adaptive strategies, including continuing ministry and reconstructing meaning through faith, resulting in divergent outcomes ranging from continued engagement to structural vulnerability. This study reconceptualizes retirement as a vocationally sustained, relationally embedded, and gendered process. The findings highlight the need for more comprehensive and context-sensitive retirement support systems for women in ministry.