According to the United Nations, the world welcomed approximately 132 million newborns in 2024. Of these, roughly 21 to 22 percent were born via cesarean section. In stark contrast, 67.4 percent of the 235,234 babies born in South Korea that year were delivered through the surgical procedure, which involves an incision into the mother's uterus. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a C-section rate of 10 to 15 percent of all births, noting that the surgery should be performed only when necessary due to risks such as excessive bleeding, infection, organ damage and pulmonary embolism. The C-section rate is approximately 32 percent in the United States and 18 percent in Japan. Korea's peculiarly high rate reflects the local perception that C-sections are safer than vaginal deliveries. Critics point out that the medical community often encourages defensive practices to avoid legal liability for complications that can occur during natural childbirth. Other contributing factors include the desire to avoid labor pain, the cultural practice of selecting birth dates based on "saju" (for