This paper describes the changes taking place in reproduction in Korea as it goes through rapid modernization in all spheres of life. The increasing trend toward hospitalized births from the 1970s is very much similar to what Japan experienced fiIteen years earlier from 1955. However,there are also several differences betweｅn the two countries,such as the significantly higher cesarean section rate in Korea. We interviewed two groups of women in Korea： one with women in their 20's，and 30's who stayed in a Safuchoriwon(postpartum care center)for less than one month postpartum,and another consisting of elderiy women living the village of Kurye. Although the births of the former were highly medicalized,they were still influenced by traditional gender norms and the ideas of motherhood persistent in Korea today. The experiences of the elderly women were that they gave birth at home,usually accompanied by family members. The lack of professional assistance in homebirths in the years before hospitalization in Korea may be one reason for the high cesarean section rate in subsequent years,and also implies a significantly small number of Qualified midwives being trained in this country. this article is the first step in comparing reproduction in Aslan countries undergoing rapid modernization in all aspects of their society，to understand how gender identity. Maternity policies and cultural and religious ideas can work to shape reproduction.
