Unlike their mothers and grandmothers, modern women are in less of a rush to start a family, in large part due to higher education opportunities and labour force participation.

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Son Ye-jin

The 40-year-old Crash Landing on You star just shared on her Instagram that BinJin’s first baby is on the way!

“A new life has come to us,” she wrote on the social media platform. “I’m still a bit dazed, but I am feeling changes in my body every day with concern and excitement. As thankful as I am, I also feel that much [more] cautious, so I haven’t even told anyone around me yet. Before it gets[much] later, I am sharing this news with fans and acquaintances who must have been waiting as much as us.”

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Honey Lee

Before her due date, she proudly showed off her baby bump on Instagram and in a Vogue photo shoot. “I feel so sorry for actresses because they often have to hide their bellies during pregnancy. I’m really happy about my pregnancy. It gave me great energy so I wanted to share it with others,” she said.

Sung Yuri

At the start of 2022, former Fin. K. L member and actress Sung Yuri, 41, gave birth to twin daughters, AllKpop reported. Before they were even born, Sung revealed on Instagram that she and her partner had nicknamed the twins “Love” and “Happiness”.

In 2017, she walked down the aisle with pro golfer Ahn Sung-hyun after a four-year relationship, reported Soompi.

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Choi Ji-woo

Korean megastar Choi Ji-woo became a first-time mother in May 2020 – just a month before her 45th birthday. Aware that she was not just an older expectant mother, but also attempting to give birth during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, she decided to write a letter of encouragement to other Korean women going through the same thing on her fan page.

“After becoming pregnant at a later age and preparing with a cautious mind due to the coronavirus, I feel a great level of respect for Korean mothers,” she wrote. “I hope that other expecting mothers who are also working hard to prepare to give birth can gain strength while looking at me, the icon of late pregnancy. I will create a happy family with a grateful mind that all of this joy is thanks to my fans.”

The Winter Sonata and Stairway to Heaven star surprised her fans back in 2018 when she posted another hand-written note on her fan page, announcing that she planned to wed her non-celebrity husband that very day.

Kim Ha-neul

Korea’s “romcom queen” also gave birth to her first child, a girl, in 2018 when she was 40, after taking a break from projects and promotions “to focus on prenatal care”, Soompi reported at the time.

Before her baby news, in late 2015, Kim shocked K-drama fans by confirming her relationship with her now-husband, a businessman a year younger than her. She then announced that they planned to marry despite only having been together for a year.

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Choo Ja-hyun

“I’m not sure if it was because I’m an ‘old mother’, but I had preeclampsia right after delivering the baby. I had cramps and lung problems. My body has experienced the pain and sacrifice it takes to be a mum. It’s not just me, but all the mothers around the world endure this pain and sacrifice, I just happened to experience it in a different way,” the Green Mothers’ Club star said.