Korea Times Illustration by Shin Dong-jun
For some Korean babies born in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, fortune telling begins before their first cry.
As planned C-sections become more common, some expectant parents choose an auspicious delivery date and hour using AI saju, a Korean form of fortune-telling based on an individual's year, month, day and time of birth.
The practice has drawn attention as Korea’s C-section birth rate tops the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Because planned C-sections allow families to adjust when a baby is delivered, some parents now use what online commenters call "saju AI" to decide birth timing.
Using AI for saju has become more and more common since 2025, when artificial intelligence tools gained widespread use.
