Words Parents Shared with Three Babies Born at 0:00 on New Year's Day

Three Mothers Each Give Birth to a Son
"Hope They Grow Up Healthy"

At exactly 0:00 on the first day of 2025, the Year of the Blue Snake (Eulsa Year, 乙巳年), three babies cried out for the first time simultaneously. These babies were recorded as the first newborns of South Korea. The term "first newborn" refers to the first baby born in the new year.

Yonhap News, citing Ilsan CHA Hospital on the 1st, reported that three mothers each gave birth to healthy baby boys at midnight on the 1st. All three boys were born through natural delivery.

From the left, father Park Junsu and Nike (nickname), Lee Hyoyeong and Kkomuli, Kang Wooseok and Dingguli. Photo by Yonhap News.

Among the mothers of the first newborns in the Year of the Blue Snake, one is Gu Seul-gi (35). She gave birth to Dinggul-i (nickname in the womb), weighing 3.29 kg; Gu Ra-gyeom (27) welcomed Kkomuli, weighing 3.12 kg; and Lee Seung-hyun (33) held Nike, weighing 3.1 kg.

Dinggul-i’s mother, Ms. Gu, and father, Kang Woo-seok, had been undergoing infertility treatment for over two years before succeeding in natural pregnancy. Kang said, “It is meaningful that Dinggul-i was born as the first child of the new year in the tenth year of our marriage.” He explained the nickname Dinggul as “named so because the baby was rolling around comfortably inside the mother’s womb before coming out.”

On the morning of January 1, the first day of the New Year 2025, Eulsa Year (乙巳年), at Ilsan Cha Hospital in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, a baby boy named Dinggul (hereafter referred to as the fetal name, from right), born to Kang Woo-seok and his wife Koo Seul-gi, a baby boy named Kkomuli, born to Lee Hyo-young and his wife Koo Ra-gyeom, and a baby boy named Nike, born to Park Joon-soo and his wife Lee Seung-hyun, were held in the arms of nurses. Yonhap News Agency

Kkomuli’s father, Lee Hyo-young, said to his wife, “You went through a lot marrying someone much older like me, but since you gave birth safely, let’s raise the child well.” Lee added, “I hope Kkomuli grows up healthy, and I will support them as much as possible to do whatever they want.”

Nike’s father, Park Joon-soo, said, “It is miraculous and I am grateful. I have no specific wishes for the child except that they grow up healthy, upright, and honest, and I will do my best to make that happen.” He also told his wife, “You have been the bravest and coolest I have ever seen. Seung-hyun, you are truly amazing. I love you.”

Professor Kim Ui-hyeok of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Ilsan CHA Hospital said, “Although these are difficult and challenging times, I hope every baby born can bring new hope to South Korea.”