The statistics office and experts in the field said the country's twins boom was the result of postponement of parenthood and the increased use of assisted reproductive technology in fertility services. On average, twins' mothers are 34.8 years old, 1.5 years older than other mothers.
The probability of twins being born is about one in a hundred. The case of triplets being born is about one in a thousand. If a woman chooses to undergo Vitro fertilization in Korea, the chance of multiple births will increase by up to 30%.
According to Korean drama The King's Affection, it was believed that if the queen gives birth to a twin boy and girl, it was a bad omen and the prince would not be able to ascend to the throne.
During the Joseon era, some believed that fraternal twins were bad luck. One of the twins had to be eliminated and it was usually the girl, since a woman was considered less worthy and certainly could not inherit the throne. Sometimes the female infant was given away, sometimes she was left to die.
Twins are basically family members each other. In this situation, one of twins has to call the other one with a proper title like hyeong (형), nuna (누나), eonni (언니), or oppa (오빠), though they're at the same Korean age, unlike between non-families.
According to Hur's research published last year in Twin Research and Human Genetics, a bimonthly scientific journal published by the Cambridge University Press, Korea's traditionally low twinning rate has not only surpassed the global average but now ranks among the highest, doubling the average.
The country's statistics agency Statistics Korea said about five out of 100 babies are multiples, bringing the rate to 5.4 per cent. Data showed that 140,000 of 2.6 million newborns born in South Korea last year were multiples, including 136,000 twins and 500 triplets.
As these two Kim clans descend from different patrilineages, a Gimhae Kim and a Gyeongju Kim can marry. Before the 1997 Constitutional Court decision, however, two members of the 4 million Gimhae Kim could not marry, regardless of the distance of their relationship. ... For centuries, South Korea has had a law ...
(Sept. 5, 2008) The Constitutional Court of South Korea ruled on July 31, 2008, that a Medical Law provision that bans doctors from telling parents the gender of their unborn babies is unconstitutional.
With the government unable to provide proper welfare and support to families, many children ended up being adopted internationally. The most difficult period in modern South Korean history was probably the 1950s, that is, the years after the ceasefire in 1953.
Koreans believe that certain numbers hold significance. The number four is bad luck since it is similar to the word for death. As a result of this Korean superstition, the fourth floor of a building is often replaced with an “F.” For example, the floor sequence will go 1, 2, 3, F, 5, and so on.
In South Korea
The number 4 sounds like the hanja for "death" (사) (although Korean has no tones), so the floor number 4 or room number 4 is almost always skipped in hospitals, funeral halls, and similar public buildings.
Crossing your legs is seen as being lazy or disrespectful to the other person. Therefore, you should sit up straight and keep your hands on your lap. Open body language shows honesty and attentiveness.
Researchers have long noticed that the Yoruba tribe — whose members live in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and elsewhere — is a world leader in twins.
The central African country of Benin has the highest national average of twinning, with a whopping 27.9 twins per 1,000 births, the researchers added.
Such twins, known scientifically as 'MoMo', an abbreviation for monoamniotic-monochorionic, are some of the rarest types of twins, making up less than one percent of all births in the United States, noted the statement. It also stressed that such MoMo twin pregnancies have a high risk of fetal complications.
Korean parents are generally very traditional; they believe every relationship should lead to marriage. You might get surprised if your in-laws start talking about your weddings during the first meet. Most Koreans are against their first son marrying a foreigner.
Single mothers in South Korea are often stigmatised, lack support from the community and have few employment opportunities, reports Stephanie McDonald. Lee had her daughter when she was 23. After she got pregnant, she went into hiding and cut off contact with friends.
In South Korea, Confucian culture and a hierarchical society mean that bloodlines play a dominant role in defining community. For ostracised single mothers, to be without family ties is to be a social outcast. And while it's tough all year round, it is far more painful during the holiday season.
Korea's multicultural children see wide age gap between parents. In four out of 10 internationally married couples in Korea, the husbands are at least 10 years older than their wives.
In South Korea, the legal age of marriage is 18 years with no exceptions. Under Article 807 of the Civil Code 2011 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years. The age of majority in South Korea is 19 years old, therefore if a person aged 18 wants to marry, they require parental/guardian consent.
In Korea, a child inherits his or her father's surname. Traditionally, men and women who have the same surnames and "ancestral homes", called dongseong dongbon (동성동본; 同姓同本), are not permitted to marry. The rule, called honinbeop (혼인법; 婚姻法), originated in China, and can be traced back at least to the late Joseon period.
However, since only women ovulate, the connection is only valid on the mother's side of the family. While men can carry the gene and pass it on to their daughters, a family history of twins doesn't make them any more likely to have twins themselves.
Vietnam was the country with the fewest twins (6.2 per 1,000 births) and Benin was the country with the most (27.9 per 1,000). Over time, some of these developing countries saw increases in twins, but some saw decreases and some stayed the same, with any changes tending to be small.
Around the world, the chances of having twins for a couple is 1 per cent, and the rate for China is 0.5 per cent, according to Yu Rong, an obstetrician from Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing.