The purpose of this study was to compare the division of housework of urban couples in Korea and Japan. The data for 214 Korean couples living in Seoul and 162 Japanese couples in Tokyo were collected using structured questionnaires and time diaries. The division of housework were analyzed according to employed status of wives. The results were as follows; Generally Koreans and Japanese had similar patterns in the division of housework between husbands and wives. Husbands of full-time employed wives spent more time on housework than husbands of part-time employed wives and full-time wives. But the division of housework between spouse of part-time employed wives in Japan was a little different from that of Korean partners. Especially the husbands of full-time employed wives in Japan do housework the most among all types of husbands.