Why Korea’s pregnancy seats are so hard for pregnant women to use
Korea Times illustration by Lee Ji-won
Pregnancy badges stir debate over Korea’s priority seats
Pregnancy is often celebrated as the start of new life, but for many women it also brings months of physical strain, caution and discomfort.
Pregnant women have to watch what they eat, move more slowly and sometimes cope with mood swings, making everyday routines — including a subway or bus ride — harder than they may look to others.
Pregnancy has long required public accommodation and Korea’s low birthrate has added urgency to campaigns encouraging people to support pregnant women in public spaces. The Ministry of Health and Welfare oversees the program, while the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association handles the production and distribution of the badges.
A small badge meant to make pregnancy visible on public transport has become a test of how much trust strangers will extend to one another. Most citizens support the badge’s purpose, but some complain about misuse or about pregnant women taking the courtesy for granted.
The debate around priority seats for pregnant women has sharpened into a familiar divide. Some say passengers should give up seats as a matter of basic decency. Others echo the harsher online sentiment captured in Korean headlines, asking who told pregnant women to have children in the first place.
A pregnant woman holds a badge and a breastfeeding information booklet during a joint campaign promoting consideration for pregnant women at Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, April 28. Newsis
One woman in early pregnancy wrote online that she wanted to receive the badge because public transport had become difficult, even though she was not yet showing. She said she wanted passengers to give up a seat but hesitated to ask for one.
Other users told her she could receive the badge quickly at a public health center with documents proving pregnancy. One said supplies were in short supply, while adding that more people gave up seats than expected. Another said many pregnant women attach the badge to their bags, where others can see it without having to ask verbally.
Wearing the badge does not guarantee a seat. One commenter said passengers often failed to give up a seat even when she wore the badge and was visibly pregnant. Another woman said she received a badge that looked faded and yellow, prompting her to ask whether that was normal. Some commenters said mothers sometimes return badges after childbirth and that reused badges can yellow over time. Others said epoxy material can discolor with age, meaning even a new badge may not look new.
Pregnant women still struggle to use priority seats
The badge can create its own discomfort. One pregnant woman said she hid hers because displaying it felt like she was pressuring seated passengers to stand. She said non-pregnant passengers frequently occupied the priority seats.
A man in his 70s sits in an empty priority seat for pregnant women inside a Line 1 subway train. Korea Times file
Other women described similar hesitation. One said she never used the badge after receiving it because wearing it felt embarrassing. Another said she wore it because she worried people might mistake her pregnant belly for weight gain. A third said the phrase "Pregnant women first" made her feel like she was demanding accommodation rather than quietly asking for it.
For some women, the badge signals more than a need for a seat. One high-risk pregnant woman said she wore it so emergency responders would know she was pregnant if she lost consciousness in a traffic accident. Another said she wore the badge before she began showing because she feared someone might bump into her, then used it more selectively once her pregnancy became visible.
Several commenters urged pregnant women to display the badge clearly rather than hide it. One wrote that the badge exists so people can notice when a woman cannot bring herself to ask directly. Another said that in late pregnancy she felt so unwell that she eventually pleaded with passengers, apologizing and saying she was experiencing severe discomfort before asking if they could give up a seat.
The experience can differ sharply between subways and buses. One woman said subway passengers more often leave the seats free, while bus passengers, including older and middle-aged passengers, rarely gave them up. Others said buses during the evening commute were especially difficult and that even younger passengers often stayed seated.
Some pregnant women said they had stopped expecting help on buses. One commenter said she simply showed the badge and asked, "May I sit?" If the person still refused, she wrote, there was little else she could do.
Screenshots from Instagram show cases in which people photographed non-pregnant passengers sitting in priority seats for pregnant women on the subway and posted the images on personal social media accounts. Captured from Instagram
Commuters demand mutual courtesy
The unease runs in the other direction as well. A commuter who said they had given up a seat to a pregnant woman complained that she sat down without saying thank you, acting as if entitled to the seat. The commuter asked whether a word of thanks was common courtesy.
Other commenters echoed that frustration. One said a pregnant woman appeared irritated as she accepted a regular seat, not a priority seat, after the commenter noticed her late while looking at a route map because of poor eyesight. Another said they had given up seats several times to women wearing pregnancy badges but had never heard a word of thanks or even received eye contact.
One bus passenger wrote that they had been using a phone in the front seat and did not see a pregnant woman standing until they were getting off. The passenger said the pregnant woman glared and another woman, apparently her mother, scolded them. The passenger said they replied that consideration belonged to the person giving it and that someone struggling that much should take a taxi rather than take out her frustration on a stranger.
For critics, the problem lies not in helping pregnant women but in the expectation that others must always do so. One citizen said priority seats for pregnant women are recommendations, not legal obligations, and that people should not treat consideration as automatic.
A customer who visited a café shared a similar anecdote. A pregnant customer reportedly asked staff to “pay attention” because the order was for a pregnant woman. A part-time worker asked her to check for allergies and confirm the order. When the customer said she was not talking about allergies, another employee asked her to state a specific request because staff could not understand what she wanted. The customer allegedly scoffed, complained that they could not understand her and left after receiving a refund.
Commenters used the incident to argue over whether some pregnant women act as if pregnancy confers special status. One called the customer an entitled nuisance. Another replied that pregnancy deserves social respect, but rude behavior remains a separate problem. A fourth said pregnancy may be special within one’s own family, but that does not make it a status others must accommodate unconditionally.
Alleged badge misuse fuels suspicion
Other commenters said authorities should collect badges after childbirth. One suggested requiring a 50,000 won ($35) deposit and refunding it when the badge comes back.
Some online debates went further. One person said a friend who was a mother of two wore her old badge after company dinners so she could sit in priority seats and sleep on the train. Another said they saw a woman at a private resort in Vietnam attach a pregnancy badge to a swimming bag while hovering near sunbeds. A third claimed some people wear the badge at airports to check in faster or move through security more quickly.
A priority seat for pregnant women on a subway train / Korea Times file
Yoon Soo-yeon, a Seoul city family health official, said the pregnancy badge follows the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s maternal and child health project guidelines and forms part of a campaign to create an environment more supportive of childbirth. She said the campaign requires citizens’ cooperation.
The Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association oversees the badge, and public health centers nationwide make it available once a year. Pregnant women can also receive it at customer service centers at some subway stations with documents proving pregnancy or an official maternity logbook.
Similar systems exist elsewhere, including Japan’s maternity mark and Britain’s “Baby on Board” badge.
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.