Lee Soo Kyung, an actress, has talked openly about her choice to not have children, saying that unmarried women in South Korea face legal and institutional barriers.
The 44-year-old actress recently talked about her desire to become a mother on a TV show. She discussed the steps she thought about taking, such as freezing her eggs, adopting a child, or getting pregnant through artificial insemination. She looked into many different options, but in the end, she decided not to go through with them because of rules that came with her marriage.
Lee told Koreaboo that she had been seriously interested in starting a family for a long time, especially since she turned 40. But when she looked into her options, she ran into a lot of problems.
She discussed the problems she was having during the broadcast. She said,"I was interested in egg freezing. I had been thinking about it, but in Korea, it's not allowed before marriage. You need a husband—only then is artificial insemination possible, and adoption also requires a family."
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MK coverage said that Lee also talked about her thoughts on adoption, making it clear that her main goal was to provide care and stability for a child. She said that her choice was because of legal reasons, not reluctance.
During the same appearance, she went into more detail about her views on adoption. She said, "I thought that if I could give a lot of love, it wouldn't be a bad thing for a child. But since it's not legally possible in my situation, I gave up on it."
The actress's comments have brought attention to the bigger picture of reproductive rights and adoption laws in South Korea. Some local governments have started programs to help unmarried women freeze their eggs so they can have children later. However, these programs are not yet standard across the country.
The publication noted that unmarried women can't get artificial insemination due to institutional and regulatory barriers, even though talks are underway to make it easier.
The publication also added that the adoption laws have changed over time. In 2007, the laws were changed to allow single-parent adoption. But the process is still harder for single people than for married couples, with stricter screening criteria and eligibility requirements.
Lee Soo Kyung's comments have gotten people talking again about the problems single people face when they want to become parents, especially women who have to deal with societal expectations and legal restrictions.
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