Seoul City’s Advice To Pregnant Women Goes Viral, Sparks Massive Reactions

“What nonsense is this?”
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Koreaboo

“By not putting off household chores like cleaning and doing the dishes, it will help with maintaining your weight even without doing extra exercise.” This is just one of the pieces of advice that Seoul’s Pregnancy and Childbirth Information Centre has been criticized for giving pregnant women.

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An unrelated stock photo of a pregnant woman for illustrative purposes | Unsplash

In 2021, the Seoul city government’s online guidelines for pregnant women incited backlash and petitions from the public. On January 7, 2026, screenshots of the advice, which heavily focuses on women’s husbands and families, went viral once again, after netizens posted and shared them on X (Twitter).

At 19 weeks

‘If you feel reluctant to move because your belly is getting bigger, your weight can increase rapidly. Doing household chores like cleaning or dishwashing without putting them off can help manage your weight without separate exercise.’

At 22 weeks

‘Buy a small-sized outfit you wore before marriage or want to wear after childbirth, and hang it visibly in sight. When you crave lots of food or feel reluctant to exercise, look at it for motivation.’

At 35 weeks

‘Check remaining amounts of daily essentials like toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and detergent ahead of time so family members face no inconvenience.’

‘Prepare a few favorite family foods in the fridge, such as instant curry or soup, for convenient use even by a husband unskilled in cooking.’

‘Prepare underwear, socks, shirts, and handkerchiefs for your husband and other family members to change into on your hospitalization date, and organize them neatly in a drawer.’

‘Write down notes for door locks, gas checks, and phone numbers of frequently used restaurants, then stick them on the fridge door.’

— X caption

In the comment sections and retweets, netizens from around the globe criticized the advice, while voicing their support for Korean women.

The guidelines’ publication was reportedly overseen by the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and the city government stated that the guidelines had been copied from a website run by the health ministry. According to 2021 reports by The Guardian and Yonhap News, the controversial guidelines were removed in response to the backlash.

Do they still think married women are their husbands’ housekeepers?

— Social media comment, reported by Yonhap News, via The Guardian

According to The Guardian‘s report, this isn’t the first time the South Korean government has received backlash from the public for its guidelines. Back in 2018, guidelines for high school students came under fire for stating that “women have to work on their appearance and men have to work on improving their financial capabilities.”

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| Seoul Metropolitan Government
Source: Courthouse News Service, The Guardian and Khan
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