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Seoul, South Korea — Lee Jang-mi, a 34-year-old Seoul office worker, laughs with a hint of embarrassment as she acknowledges fitting the stereotype of a single, childless South Korean woman.
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t want kids,” says Lee with an exaggerated grin, rolling her eyes and gesturing toward herself.
Though she’s currently in a relationship, Lee is unmarried and hesitant to start a family, citing financial stress as a major concern.
“Raising a child well seems like an enormous burden,” she adds.
But Lee’s perspective changed after stumbling into a pop-up store in Seoul's trendy Seongsu district, where she learned more about egg-freezing, a medical procedure meant to preserve a woman’s fertility.
“It actually sounds like a good idea,” says Lee, after exploring the exhibits. “Because if you someday regret your decision [to not have kids], then it’s too late to change your mind.”
At Maria Hospital, the Seoul fertility clinic behind the pop-up store, the number of egg-freezing procedures more than tripled from 2019 to 2023 — a trend that mirrors a nationwide surge, according to South Korea’s health ministry.
Birth rate crisis
This rise in demand may be partly because of government subsidies, with the Seoul city government covering about half of egg-freezing costs for women aged 20-49.
It's one of several steps South Korean officials are taking to address the country’s rapidly declining birth rate, which they have labeled a national emergency.
South Korea’s fertility rate, already the world’s lowest, fell to a record 0.72 last year. This means the average woman is expected to have far fewer children than the 2.1 required to sustain the population.
On its current track, South Korea’s population will be reduced by half by the end of the century. Among other challenges, officials fear the country will not have enough workers to pay for rising health care costs as society rapidly ages.
Preserving fertility
Lim Tae-won, vice president of Maria Hospital, says he hopes egg-freezing becomes part of the solution to South Korea’s demographic crisis.
“Basically, we think that many people would like to have children, just not right now,” says Lim, who says he understands why many young women prioritize their own lives over having kids.
South Korean women often cite high child care costs, demanding work hours, and workplace gender discrimination as barriers to starting families.
“In the end, [women] de-prioritize marriage and childbirth,” says Lim. “And later, when they do want to have children, they’ve become less fertile.”
By freezing eggs at or near peak fertility, women can then use them, at least in theory, to become pregnant later via in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
Lee Chae-rin, a 31-year-old Seoul resident, froze her eggs two years ago and says it has given her greater freedom to enjoy life as a single person.
“Maybe it’s just because I really enjoy my life right now. But I think people naturally want to follow their passions — whether it’s studying, working more, or pursuing hobbies. For me, it’s surfing,” Lee says.
Lee works at Maria Hospital, most recently at the pop-up store, where she provided fertility-related consultations.
Broad appeal
Single women like Lee were the target audience for the pop-up store, which was located in a neighborhood known for its stylish cafes, art galleries, and clothing boutiques.
According to organizers, upwards of 10,000 people visited the store over a two-week period, though many were initially unaware it was run by a fertility clinic.
The store attracted visitors with the appeal of free, customizable ice cream. Visitors could create their own flavors and mix-ins through a multi-station interactive process that highlighted different lifestyle choices.
Only after getting the ice cream were visitors made aware of the egg-freezing sales pitch. Many passersby appeared interested, though some expressed concerns that the procedure was still too expensive.
“I’m not ruling out the possibility of having a baby later, so I would consider doing it — but only if the government provided more support,” said Goh Bo-min, a 32-year-old academic researcher.
Drawbacks
Many experts say egg-freezing alone, however, is unlikely to significantly affect South Korea’s demographic decline.
Jeong Yeon-bo, an associate professor of social sciences at Seoul’s Sungkonghoe University, argues this is because the approach does not address broader, systemic issues in South Korean society.
The cause of the low birth rate is that young people are experiencing challenges including wealth inequality, sexism, long working hours, and insufficient child care support. But [egg-freezing] doesn’t tackle these underlying problems — it merely offers a medical solution to the problem.
Jeong Yeon-bo, an associate professor of social sciences, Seoul’s Sungkonghoe University
Additionally, egg-freezing in South Korea is likely only useful for women who eventually marry, as most fertility clinics require a marriage certificate before initiating procedures like IVF.
And since South Korea does not allow sperm donation or surrogate mothers, as Jeong points out, only heterosexual couples may be able to benefit from egg-freezing.
But many women say it can make a difference on an individual level, at least temporarily relieving the pressure to marry and have children.
“I don’t know when I’ll get married, but I can’t turn back the clock on aging,” says Lee, who chose to freeze her eggs. “So, I invested for the future and froze my eggs.”
(VOA/SP)
