Korea's first pregnant "same sex" couple goes public

Article: "Unni, look, two dark lines.." Korea's first pregnant same-sex couple

Source: Hankyoreh

"I've got quite the belly"

Kim Gyujin (31) stated as she touched her round belly. Her spouse Kim Se-yeon (34) on the side added, "She's already 8 months pregnant." The reason why Gyujin's pregnancy is unfamiliar is because they're a same sex couple of "two wives."

Gyujin caught attention after submitting a wedding invitation to her company for her honeymoon vacation and got pregnant through donated sperm. Regarding the reason for disclosing the pregnancy even though she knew it would be controversial, she stated, "I wanted to let people know that there are same-sex couples who give birth to children." 

This is the first time in Korea that a same-sex pregnant couple has been made public.

On June 24, 2 months before giving birth, I met the Gyujin-Seyeon couple. The two had registered their marriage in New York May 2019 and married in Korea in November. Gyujin who introduced herself as a "Korean married woman lesbian" wrote a book titled, "Unni, Will You Marry Me?"

"Lesbian? But you're expecting a baby right?"

"I never intended to have kids. Even if I was straight, I would've felt the same. It's not easy to be a good parent," she stated.

"In December last year, Gyujin conceived through artificial insemination using donated sperm from a Belgian infertility hospital. She never thought about pregnancy and childbirth until 2021 when she was working as an expatriate in France. Compared to Korea, French people don't face much pressure about raising kids. There are many people who seem happy, it was really different."

"Later, the words of a female boss she met in France made her rethink pregnancy and she told her boss, "I have a wife" and she replied, "But are you going to have a baby?" First, she wasn't surprised I was a lesbian, and second, she even recommended giving birth to a same-sex couple. I came thought the misfortune should end in my generation. I came to think that if I'm happy, my children will be happy too. And above all, I felt that unni (pointing at Seyeon and laughing) would be a better mother than me. I didn't have the confidence to give birth but Gyujin said she would so there was no reason to stop."

"Gyujin thought to get the in-vitro treatment in France where she was living however they couldn't get the sperm, more precisely, they had no sperm. If you tell people in France about the low fertility rate in Korea that's less than .8%, most of them think you're lying."

"It's not that she never considered getting the procedure done in Korea. But when she went to a hospital there, she gave up after she saw how her unmarried friends were getting rejected over and over again. Finding a sperm donor is next to impossible since Korean hospitals provide sperm only to legally or common-law married couples. She wasn't eligible. Even if she could personally find a donor, it's illegal to pay for sperm. She even thought to ask an acquaintance but even that wasn't easy so she gave up."

"That's why we chose Belgium since it borders France. Before France legalized in vitro for unmarried women and same-sex couples, unmarried French women who wanted to receive the procedure went to Belgium."

"We look forward to living outside the postpartum care center. I think it would be a very fun experience to be around our friends around the so-called normality of getting married and having kids. If the person living next to you is a minority, you can't turn away. Just like Gyujin's aunts who've told us "homosexuality is the devil" when they attended our wedding, that her own parents didn't attend. Gyujin's father wasn't happy with the marriage but became a strong supporter when he heard news of his daughter's pregnancy. Our lesbian friends also confided in us that they wanted to have a child too. Seyeon lost contact with all her parents after she came out but I'm sure they'll be finding out soon about her wife's pregnancy."

Seyeon added, "My father reads a lot of articles on the internet. He'll probably know soon."

"We're not legally married so Seyeon can't take parental or maternity leave. You have to identify as a 'mom' every time you drop off your kid at kindergarten. There's also the issue of gift and inheritance in the future."

Gyujin added, "Later, custody of our child can't go directly to her sister. She has to through adoption or other procedures. But if my parents say they will exercise parental rights there may be a legal battle." 

"There's a grace period before the child enters elementary. Until then, we plan to try to change the world. If our child is bullied by friends for not having a father, we'll consider emigrating. But my wife and I like Korea and we have hope for Korea. I didn't realize the public campaign for same-sex marriage would be so extensive."

Seyeon added, "There's only one thing I want to say those who spew vicious words feigning concern claiming that 'they're worried about child's future.' I want to hold their hands and say, 'then you can help me.' If they help, wouldn't a better society come sooner?"

1. [+2,893, -779] Ah, I f*cking hate the way they're trying to beautifully package homosexualityㅉㅉ
2. [+1,465, -904] Whether homosexuality or whatever, if you give birth to a Korean child and raise it well, you're a patriot. The baby isn't going to get hurt because they have lesbian parents but because of you internet warriors who keep writing comments.
3. [+1,175, -287] Isn't this a sin and an immoral crime?ㅉㅉ
4. [+970, -249] No... so the child will have two moms??? Mom.. mom.. why is dad a woman?? I mean if that's the case.. aigoo now I'm laughing.. 
5. [+860, -310] Isn't homosexuality a type of mental illness?
6. [+610, -135] That unborn child is seriously pitiful. That poor thing will suddenly be born to parents without preparation and get neglected, abandoned, abused as soon as he's born. We all know this because that's what we all faced as kids. What kids need isn't a biological father but an adult who fully supports them. I mean at least they thought well and seem to have financial ability.
7. [+460, -103] Here's an idea to increase birth rates.. acknowledge diverse families, increase welfare benefits and legalize sperm banks..?
8. [+119, -41] I'm seriously speechless from this article.. it's obvious the kid will hear from their friends after they go to kindergarten so to beautify it like it's some amazing thing..
9. [+116, -8] Hankyoreh Gija!! Stop writing articles beautifying same-sex!!
10. [+78, -19] They're using a child as a tool to satisfy their own desires.. ugh. They should be focusing on the fact that the poor kid doesn't have a right to choose.. they're fully showing their own selfish greed!
11. [+71, -13] In the end, pregnancy can only come from a man's sperm. They're clearly going against nature and deviating from the purpose for which it was created in the first place and are misusing it. I'm seriously speechless at how in depth this article is written.
12. [+45, -10] Homos out!
13. [+44, -6] Hankyoreh reporter Oh Se-jin.. wake up! "Korea's first pregnant same-sex couple? The French?! Our country doesn't recognize same-sex as a married couple. It's legally impossible to perform artificial insemination on a same-sex couple! Don't write articles as if we acknowledge same-sex marriage! The fact is they couldn't even get pregnant without sperm. A child shouldn't be used for their own selfish happiness!