Korean Culture (한국 문화),  Life In Korea (한국의 삶)

What to Expect After Giving Birth in Korea

We’d made it. We had our bundle of joy, gave birth in Korea, and were no longer the expectant couple. We were now a trio ready to face the world… well sort of. Giving birth in Korea can be daunting and there is so much going on from finding doctors, going to hospitals or birthing centers, to setting up the home to be baby friendly. It’s easy enough to think that once the baby comes, everything is done. But it isn’t!

One of the first things to do is to get the birth certificate and yes, you should get both the Korean birth certificate and the English birth certificate. There are also a number of benefits of giving birth and having a baby in Korea like the financial assistance. So, let’s get into it and go over the things you should forget before you leave the hospital and the things you should do to get into the appropriate programs for your family.

baby feet in mommy hands

Are you pregnant in Korea? Here are some more posts you might be interested in:

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We gave birth… or I gave birth and my husband stood above me relaying sentences from the nurses in Korean to me in English. Now we had her and first, we had to register our babe here and abroad. For this post I will talk about some of the things we experienced in the hospital and afterward that I feel is pertinent information to be aware of.

Take into account that we are a multicultural family here in Korea, I, the American, and my husband, the Korean national. Foreign families will have slightly different things to do, or less things to do maybe since you don’t have to register your child here on a family tree. But you will still need to get that English birth certificate so read on.


baby hand in daddy hand

How To Get Birth Certificates & Passports For Babies In Korea

Make sure to ask and get both the Korean birth certificate, which is standard, and the English copy and make sure that all names are correct. They had only put my first name into their system at the birthing center, common since putting my full name in Korean would be much longer than the 3 syllable names Koreans commonly have. They then put that two syllable name onto our Korean birth certificate which we didn’t notice until later. We had to go back and get a new one because our district office would not accept this as it was different than the name they had on file for me. Obviously you should get a passport with your actual and real name on it, not the made up name hospitals might give you.

Also, get two copies while you’re at the hospital. Unlike the States where we keep our original birth certificate and copies can be made if need be, in Korea, the district office will take your Korean birth certificate for their files and to put your child on to your Korean spouse’s, if you have one, family tree/family register.

If you will want your own copy, which I recommend as an American who has my own and this will be your only documentation with all three of your names on it, father, mother and child, then get multiple copies at the beginning so you won’t have to go back to the hospital. If you move abroad at some point, you’ll want to have your birth certificates handy. Also, if you’ll be getting dual citizenship you need to make sure the English copy is stamped and signed by the doctor when you go to the embassy to use it as proof.

baby

On the note of passports, please remember that I am American and my husband is Korean, if you want the English name to be different from the Korean name, then you will need to get the American passport FIRST in order to use that as proof that the name is legal when you get the Korean passport.

You cannot just go and tell them a Hangul name and a different English name until the English name is legalized. On the same token, if you want to keep the Korean and English name the same but want a specific spelling in English, you’ll still want to get the foreign passport first because these days the Korean registration office is a bit prickly with you choosing how you want things spelled. So that you understand what I mean, for example:

  • My husband’s Korean name is 정재우 (Romanized to be Jeong Jae-oo/ Jae-oo Jeong). Now in his passport, that’s exactly what they have. It is his Korean/Hangul name and the name just Romanized.
  • However, should he have a Korean name and a different English name like James Jeong, James being completely different from Jae-oo, his Hangul name, then he would need to register his ENGLISH name first to make it legal. Once that is done, then the Korean office would accept that American passport as legal documentation that the name James is valid. The Korean passport would then have both names printed inside. This is the case for our daughter who has a different English name from her Korean name. If you are doing the same name in both languages, it won’t matter UNLESS you have a specific way you want to spell it. The registrar here will only have a few options for spelling and you won’t be able to just choose willy-nilly.
US Embassy Seoul

The American Embassy in Seoul can assist you in registering your child after birth. All of the information is on their site. “The U.S. Embassy in Seoul strongly encourages all U.S. citizens who have children born in the Republic of South Korea to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) as soon as possible after the birth of the child.  A CRBA is an official record confirming that the child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth.  It can be issued only at a U.S. Embassy or a Consular Office overseas, and only before the child reaches 18 years of age.  Please note that the U.S. Embassy Seoul can approve or deny CRBA applications only for children born in Korea.”

Be sure to check out what documents are required and prepare them before you go. The registration was pretty quick and painless and we had her passport in no time you just need to find the time and make an appointment and get downtown.


baby clothes, giving birth in Korea

Financial Assistance

As I mentioned before, there is plenty of financial assistance made available to couples that are expecting and then have a child in Korea. This is one of the benefits to giving birth and having a child in Korea. A lot of this has to do with the low fertility rate in Korea and the government trying its best to help couples that have children so that a financial burden is no reason for a family not to have a child. After giving birth, the child must be registered at the district office and added to the Korean family tree in order to receive these benefits. After registration, you are directed to another desk in order to fill out your bank information because you are now eligible for multiple assistance programs.

The first subsidy you are awarded is a one time ‘Congratulations you had a baby’ subsidy (출산축하금). The amount varies depending on how many children you have.

The second subsidy is a monthly payout, or child allowance, from birth until the child enters school or 6 years old (가정양육수당 지원). This amount varies from city to city and district to district. You can check this website for up to date information for your location.

Korean money

You should automatically be directed to apply for these subsidies when registering your child at your local district office but, if you aren’t, be sure to ask about them. Do be aware, these subsidies are only available for a child with Korean nationality. This means that if neither parent is Korean, then the child born here or not, won’t be able to receive this.

As of September, 2018, there has been an additional allowance that is not added to the above mentioned. While the i-Happiness card allowance will go directly to daycares and kindergartens, should the child be enrolled, a new one which offers an additional W100,000 on top of the above subsides will now be paid directly to the parents for additional financial assistance at home.

pregnant in Korea: the pretty mom card, pregnancy benefits in Korea

Just some additional information on how these subsidies work, basically if your child will stay home with you, then this subsidy will go directly into your bank account. However, if you register your child for daycare of kindergarten, these subsides will go directly to the school to pay for the care. You’ll receive a card called the i-Happiness card that can be used at the daycares and kindergartens so that the financials are kept separate from your general accounts. The money from the government goes in and the schools take it out when you register it with them. The i-Happiness card is available from 16 different banks and financial institutions here in Korea so most likely whichever bank you’re currently registered with will be able to help you set it up.

Also note, these allowances will continue from birth to 6, HOWEVER, if you are outside of Korea for more than 90 days, the subsides will be suspended.

For More Information on How To Apply And Where, check this government website available in multiple languages.


vaccination, needle

Vaccinations

You can get vaccinations at your hospital or at your nearest community health center. There are currently 14 vaccinations that are given for free including tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, rubella, rubeola, Japanese encephalitis, varicella, influenza, typhoid. Know that these are free. Not every hospital will offer them for free but your nearest community center will. Our birthing center wanted to charge W70,000 for tuberculosis and all of the rest of the vaccinations would be free so we went to the community center near our house for TB so we didn’t have to pay.

Be sure to ask how they administer the shots. You’ve probably seen the children that have the scars on their arms from their vaccinations being shot with a gun-like instrument. You don’t have to get that. There are other options. Most likely after the vaccination, the mother and child will be directed to a room so that the child can be calmed if need be and you can watch for any changes in personality. Note that the father is often not allowed in the rooms that they have available for this. They ushered me into such a room quickly and made my husband wait outside but not before I opened the door twice to figure out what I was supposed to be doing in there and they had him explain.


Are you pregnant in Korea? Here are some more posts you might be interested in:

And if you plan on staying in a post-natal hotel, check out:

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26 Comments

  • Ray

    Hi Hallie,

    My wife and I just had our firstborn baby girl a couple days ago! We’re both Asian Americans. My wife was a Korean national before she became a naturalized US citizen. First of all, I just want to say that I really enjoyed reading your writing here. It’s super informative and fun to read. I have a few questions and was hoping you could help.
    1) My wife’s parents and sibling are still Korean nationals, do we need to take our baby to the district office and add our baby girl to the family tree? Would that make her eligible for the financial subsidy?
    2) I’ve been told that the baby’s name is not immediately required at the time of birth in Korea and people here like to pay a visit to a fortune teller who will provide several names to choose from. Does that mean we can return to the hospital at a later time to get the birth certificates there once we have decided on a Korean name?
    3) Our daughter will have different English and Korean names, but since she will not be getting a Korean passport, do you see any problem with us getting a Korean birth certificate first before legalizing an English name for her at the US Embassy in Seoul?
    4) Is the Application for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (DS-2029) what we need to file in order to get Consular Report of Birth (FS-240) and an English version of Certification of Report of Birth (DS-1350) issued by the Department of State?
    5) I read online that the birth registration should be filed within 30 days after birth otherwise, there is a fine for default. Is this registration done at the district office? By the way, we currently live in Daejeon.

    Thank you so much in advance for your help!

    • Hallie Bradley

      Hi Ray, Congratulations on the new addition! There’s a lot to break down here so let’s jump in:

      1. I’m not sure if you can add her to other family trees that aren’t your own. You’d want to check the legality on that. Since I’m married into the system as opposed to a Korean who gave up nationality but came back on a visa, I’m sure there are some differences. For F4 specific things (I think that’s the visa your wife would have?) I’d get into the “F Visa Holders In Korea” group on FB and find other F4 visa holders to ask. There are definitely some different processes for Korean descendants.
      2. You’re right, the baby name isn’t something you need to choose right away. My husband is under the impression that you wouldn’t be able to get an empty birth certificate but you’d go back later when you have a name and be able to request it once you have a name. That’s a question you could totally ask your hospital. However, since you’d want to get the baby on your insurance sooner rather than later, and if you are both foreigners technically, then you’d want to choose a name a bit faster.
      3. For the names, your Korean birth certificate will ONLY have the Korean name not the English one, and your English one will ONLY have the English name. You can get them printed out anytime. Whether you’re getting a passport or not, you’d need to get those printed first. It wasn’t a big deal to ask for different names when we did. The birth certificate itself doesn’t mean much until you’ve registered the baby and gotten passports really.
      4. All of the application forms can be found on the embassy website but you can also get them when you’re there in person.
      5. For registering, you can just go to your dong office. But, you can also call 1345 to get the information about where to go in Daejeon just to make sure it’s not different outside of Seoul.

      Hope at least some of that was helpful. It’s definitely a bit different process when you’re a foreign/foreign couple but I’ve had a friend just go through it and came out unscathed so I know you can do it!

      • Ray

        Thanks, Hallie! It’s definitely more helpful than anything else I’ve able to find on the internet so far. Your post on your childbirth experience was what drew me to your blog in the first place, but now I’m starting to read your writing on travels and food in Korea and this is such a great blog. Please keep it up!

      • Ray

        Hi Hallie,

        I was wondering if you’re familiar with the Korean national health insurance program for foreigners. Is staying in Korea for 6 months or longer a prerequisite for enrolling in Korean NHI? Thanks!

    • Yujin Lee

      I was born in Korea but I immigrated to Canada when I was 8 years old. I’m trying to get a hold of my birth certificate because I’m trying to find my exact date and time of my birth. When you gave birth and had to register your child, did you have to provide the time of birth as well? Thank you!

      • Hallie Bradley

        I’m not sure that we had to register the exact time of birth. We did have to provide a copy of the birth certificate and I think it’s on there so it would be on file somewhere I imagine. Not sure if that’s really helpful or not. You’d probably have to know which district office you were registered at to see.

  • Sarah Lee

    Hi Hallie!

    My husband and I are expecting our first child this coming December. We live in Seoul–I’m American, he’s Korean. I was doing research on how go about giving our child a Korean and American name. For example: using the name Sarah Ji-ah Lee in the US and 이지아 (Lee Ji-ah) in Korea. From my understanding, after reading your blog, that means we would have to get the US passport first with Sarah Ji-ah Lee and then the Korean passport with both names on it. I was wondering, though, what name/names would need to be on the proof of birth document we get from the Korean hospital? And in the future, when filling out legal documents (driver’s license, bank accounts, etc.) in Korea, would our child be able to use just their Korean name (이지아) or would they have to use the full English name (이 사라 지아)?

    • Hallie Bradley

      First off, congratulations!
      From the Korean hospital, we got two birth certificates, one in English (with her English name) and one in Korean (with her Korean name) so the names on each are different but since you’ll need a birth certificate for the embassy in English anyway, you’ll want to get it. Just get a couple copies of each. The hospital was just fine about doing it so that shouldn’t be an issue. Once you’ve registered her in Korea with her Korean name, yes, you use her Korean name for everything when you’re getting other legal documents. Just her Korean name since you wouldn’t be registering 이 사라 지아 that wouldn’t be her legal name her. Her legal name would be 이지아. So in our daughter’s Korean passport it has her three syllable Korean name and then a different first/middle/last name in English because we registered her with a legal English name. The only time she’d use her English name for anything in Korea is when we’re buying like plane tickets or something.

  • Michelle

    So u mean we have to live there in order to get the support?What about we will pay the insurance system thing there but still we will live here,would it be possible to qualify for the benefit?Thank u for ur time and effort in answering?

    • Hallie

      Hi Michelle, I’m a little confused by your questions. If you’re not living in Korea, then there would be no reason to pay into the insurance system here… If you’ll be staying in the Philippines with your family, then you should look at the system and benefits available there.

  • Michelle

    Hi.May i ask anyone here if u have any idea also.I’m a foreigner married to a Korean.We got married here in the Philippines and soon we will be having our babies~twins.?Will my twins be able to get the financial support also even if i will born them here in the Philippines?
    Thanks for ur answer!

    • Hallie

      Are you living in the Philippines? The financial support is for those people living in Korea and paying into the insurance system. So, if you’re still in the Philippines, I don’t think you’d be able to get it. If you bring them here and start paying into the insurance system, then you would be I believe.

  • zia ur rehman

    plz any one can tell me, i am a foreigner student in korea, i have my wife with me, i december we will have a baby. so what are the benefits for my baby from korea govt?

    • Hallie

      Which part Ramsha? My baby is considered Korean and American by passport so we had to get her everything Korean and everything American. If you pay into healthcare here, you qualify for the subsidy. You need to register the baby… I have multiple posts on having a baby here. Check them all out but let me know if you have a more specific question.

  • sabi

    Hey i would just like to ask
    In case you are married to korean guy do you have to sign up the child in his family registry? Ive heard there are many disadvantages if you get divorced later cuz of that…

    • Hallie

      If your child is going to be obtaining a Korean passport, then he/she would have to be on the family registry. I think in a divorce situation there are many disadvantages anyway regardless of being on a family registry.

  • Kris

    Congrats.

    Is it for all families, korean only or multicultural only?

    I feel bad for the elderly population. They had small families and put all their money toward one or two kids and drove up the prices of everything in the process, now they don’t have the family to support them or a retirement income high enough to make ends meet. They convinced everyone too well that one is enough. When everyone is spending 20% of the family income on one child in school why would they have two and have to divide that education budget between two kids? I think if they were able to convince everyone that a larger family or marriage at younger ages was a sign of status more people might have that second child. And jeonse needs to go away. A property owner basically borrows money to invest from a person who lives in their property for a brief time. Every few years people are moving or loaning them extra money to extend. And the occupant likely had to to take a loan out to loan the landlord money which they invest and keep the interest. Who can start life out a home debt of hundreds of thousands on a place they don’t even own? With people moving the highs and lows of the market matter too much. In the States if you live in the property over a period of time it doesn’t matter, only if you are buying and selling those highs and dips.

    • Hallie

      I believe it’s only for those families that will be registering their children on a Korean family register because they automatically have you fill out the forms after you’ve registered your child. That being said, it would be Korean and multicultural families with a Korean citizen in the family. Foreign families wouldn’t register their children in Korea, so they probably wouldn’t be able to get the subsidy. But that is just an educated guess. I didn’t ask.

  • Brent Sheffield

    Wow, after writing that piece on how the elderly barely get any support from the government it’s extremely interesting to read how they give money to new families. I’m not criticising and I’m happy you guys get money – you deserve it – but, how interesting.

    The family looks beautiful as always!

    • Hallie

      Thank you and I agree. It is clear where the priorities are and it is too bad they don’t think taking care of the elderly is just as, or more, important than trying to raise the fertility rate with financial support. The subsidies have been in place for a few years now and it doesnt even seem the programs are having the effect they hoped for but we certainly wont say no to the support.

  • Amande

    Congratulations you made it 🙂
    I am so happy for your guys and so excited for the big event to come in a few month…
    Thank you again for this very interesting post, it raised several questions on my side : if the child is not korean, is any of the “congratulations” money or monthly money available, or is this just really for korean children ?

    • Hallie

      I asked my husband this same question when I was writing this up and he was unsure but we came to the conclusion that foreign couples wouldn’t register their babies at the district office so they probably wouldn’t register for the subsidies that follow either. That is an assumption on our parts though. I know that foreign mothers are eligible for the W500,000 Beautiful Mom pre-natal card because of paying into the national insurance program. Click on the link above and if you have a Korean friend that can scour it for information to see about eligibility, that would be your best bet. I can ask my husband to check it more closely when he has some free time later.

      Congratulations to you too by the way. ^^

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