AI fortune-tellers dictate newborn destinies in Korea
Korea Times Illustration by Shin Dong-jun
Expectant mothers use digital tools to navigate family pressure and secure auspicious delivery dates
For some Korean babies born in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, fortune telling begins before their first cry.
As planned C-sections become more common, some expectant parents choose an auspicious delivery date and hour using AI saju, a Korean form of fortune-telling based on an individual's year, month, day and time of birth.
The practice has drawn attention as Korea’s C-section birth rate tops the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Because planned C-sections allow families to adjust when a baby is delivered, some parents now use what online commenters call "saju AI" to decide birth timing.
Using AI for saju has become more and more common since 2025, when artificial intelligence tools gained widespread use.
The ability to schedule a birth has also creates room for conflict. Some pregnant women come into conflict with their parents or in-laws over whether to have a vaginal birth or a C-section, turning the delivery method into a family argument before labor even begins.
7 in 10 births by C-section
One pregnant woman wrote that she delivered her first child by C-section and expected to deliver her second child the same way.
"The delivery method should be entirely the mother’s decision," she said. "People around me keep telling me what to do, and it is stressful."
A commenter responded by citing Korea’s C-section rate of 66.9 percent in 2024, noting it is among the highest in the world. The commenter compared that with about 33 percent in the United States and 18 percent in Japan, and said the high Korean rate reflected several factors, including women having babies later in life, expanded medical insurance coverage and advances in medical technology.
Other commenters focused on household matters. With more dual-income couples, one wrote, scheduling a delivery can help families plan child care and coordinate schedules with in-laws.
Another commenter said C-sections remain less common in some countries partly because the surgery is relatively expensive there, and said many more women might choose C-sections if insurance covered them as broadly as in Korea, reflecting online sentiment rather than medical consensus.
Several users pushed back against social pressure around delivery methods. One woman said people around her strongly urged her to try vaginal delivery even though she had a small frame and the baby was large.
“I even walked for hours and climbed stairs on the day of surgery because I wanted to give birth naturally," she said. "But the baby just wouldn’t come out, so I ended up having surgery.”
After delivery, she learned that the baby weighed 4 kilograms and had the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck five times. Doctors told her vaginal birth could have been very dangerous.
“Whether it is a C-section or vaginal birth, both are difficult and painful,” one commenter said. “That is why the mother’s opinion should be fully supported. I hope all mothers have safe deliveries.”
“Both options are difficult," another commenter said. "That is why people these days call vaginal birth ‘prepaid’ pain, because the pain is intense during childbirth, and C-section ‘postpaid’ pain, because the pain is intense after childbirth.”
Family pressure over delivery choices
Another pregnant woman wrote that she was worried about her C-section because her parents and in-laws were recommending vaginal birth. She said she thought she could persuade her own mother, but did not know what to say to her in-laws.
“I am the one giving birth, so why are they all telling me what to do?” she wrote.
One commenter told her the parents probably would not change their minds and suggested proceeding with the C-section.
“After having a C-section, make excuses to them later for medical urgency, such as claiming the baby was breech,” the commenter said.
Another commenter said the opinion of the person giving birth mattered most and asked why the views of a mother-in-law or mother should carry more weight. The commenter told her not to be stressed and said a healthy delivery was enough. A third commenter asked whether there were still in-laws who dictated a delivery method.
An image generated by artificial intelligence
Picking dates through saju
One woman wrote that she had scheduled her C-section and that her doctor said the operation would be in the morning. She had heard a morning birth was better in many ways and wondered whether that was because of saju.
A commenter who identified herself as a nurse gave a practical answer. She said morning surgery is useful for doctors because they can respond immediately if complications arise in the afternoon.
"After birth, pediatricians check the baby. If a baby is born in the afternoon, overnight staff may care for the baby at night. That's not ideal," the commenter said. "For similar reasons, hospitals usually recommend surgery on Monday or Tuesday."
Another commenter said morning surgery can be better because doctors from other departments and nurses are in the hospital if an emergency occurs after surgery.
Another expectant mother wrote she was considering entering her and her husband's saju into an AI tool to schedule her baby’s C-section.
One commenter said she did not like putting personal information into an AI prompt, so she went to see a fortune-teller and chose the date there.
Another said she first received a date through an online fortune-telling service, then received another reading by phone from a well-known fortune-teller. She chose a date that appeared in both results.
Others said they had used mainstream AI tools. One commenter wrote that she and her husband used Gemini Pro.
Another commenter said she entered the couple’s saju into AI tools. They cross-checked the result with ChatGPT and the paid version of Gemini. Another user echoed the sentiment, noting many people now rely on AI.
Not everyone agreed that selecting a planned C-section date produces meaningful saju. One commenter said a fortune-telling shop had called C-section date selection “fake saju.”
“Fortune-tellers said C-section date selection is fake saju because the baby was delivered on a day that was not the day the child was supposed to be born,” the commenter said. “They said only vaginal birth, or an emergency C-section after attempted vaginal birth, counts as the baby’s real saju. So I was also told not to bother choosing a date.”
Meal prep before childbirth
As her second delivery approached, one mother worried not just about the birth, but about meals at home. Anticipating her hospital stay, she asked how to handle meals for her husband and baby. She wondered whether she should make curry or kimchi fried rice and freeze it in advance.
One commenter said her husband is an adult and would fend for himself.
The woman said, “In my eyes, he's still a child. He is so cute.”
“That's great love,” another user said.
A third commenter explained that some women prepare meals in advance out of affection for their husbands, but many do so to ensure food is ready for a first child. Women giving birth abroad also prepare meals in advance.
Another commenter cited past criticism of a Seoul Childbirth Information Center checklist that included “meal prep” among things to prepare before childbirth.
“The checklist said women should prepare side dishes for the family before heading to the hospital, along with instant meals such as ready-made curry or black bean sauce,” the commenter said.
The commenter said it drew severe backlash online. She recalled criticism questioning whether a woman “risking her life to give birth” should also have to take care of a husband who is typically in his 30s or older.
Another user offered reassurance from experience.
“In my case, my husband and child managed their meals just fine,” she said. “They did fine without me. Don’t worry.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.