44-year-old unmarried actress Lee Soo Kyung opened up about her experience of considering artificial insemination and adoption, but ultimately giving up on both.
On a recent television appearance, Lee explained that as a single woman in her 40s, she had wanted to have a child. Exploring various options, she looked into egg freezing, adoption, and artificial insemination. Despite her intentions, her options were limited due to her singlehood.
“I was interested in egg freezing. I had been thinking about it, but in Korea, it’s not allowed before marriage. You need a husband—only then is artificial insemination possible, and adoption also requires a family,” revealing that she had seriously considered both egg freezing and adoption.
When asked about adoption and how serious she had been about it, Lee confirmed that she had wanted to.
“I thought that if I could give a lot of love, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for a child. But since it’s not legally possible in my situation, I gave up on it.”
Currently, support programs for egg freezing aimed at preserving fertility for unmarried women are implemented more at the local government level rather than nationally. However, artificial insemination for unmarried women remains, in practice, legally and institutionally restricted.
Adoption by unmarried women is legally allowed. In the past, only married couples were eligible, but after a legal revision in 2007, single-parent adoption became possible. However, compared to joint adoption by couples, the qualifications and screening process are relatively more stringent.