Until the early 20th century failure to bear a son was grounds for divorce.South Koreans greatly preferred boys,who could not only support their parents financially but also carry out ancestral rites.When ultrasound technology became widespread in the 1980s,many South Koreans used it to detect female femses and then have them aborted.Sex ratios became skewed.In response to these trends the South Korean government made it illegal for doctors to reveal the sex of a fetus,Following the Asian financial crisis of 1997,many women took part-time jobs to supplement the family income.Parents noticed,and began to invest more heavily in educating girls.In 2015 three-quarters of South Korean female secondary-schoolers went to university,compared with two-thirds of their male peers.Since 2009 expectant parents have been allowed to know the sex of their baby after 32 weeks'gestation.Many will have found out before,from doctors who trust that parents'attitudes have changed.
直到20世纪初，无法生育男孩还是离婚的理由之一。韩国人民非常偏爱男孩，主要是因为男孩不仅可以在经济上赡养父母，还能延续先祖的宗法。20世纪80年代，超声波技术得到广泛应用，许多韩国家庭借此技术手段对胎儿性别进行鉴别，打掉女孩，最终导致男女比例严重失调。时此，韩国政府出台了一项法规，将医生向准父母告知其胎儿性别列为违法行为。继1997年的亚洲金融危机之后，许多妇女通过做兼职工作来补贴家用。父母们意识到了教育的重要性，并加大对女孩子在教育方面的投资。到2015年，有四分之三的中学女生进入大学深造，相比较而言，中学男生大学升学率是三分之二。自2009年起，准父母在怀孕32周后可以知道他们孩子的性别。他们也能提前从医生那里得知，但医生相信准父母的观点已经改变。
