Number one priority for some Korean mums is "111111"

SEOUL |
Wed Nov 9, 2011 2:27pm IST

SEOUL (Reuters) – Expecting mothers in South Korea have inundated hospitals with requests for a Caesarean section delivery on Nov. 11 to secure the unique life-long identity number of “111111″ for their children, media reported on Wednesday.

The Korean Resident Registration Number, an identification number for all residents in Korea, is composed of 13 numbers with the first six numbers corresponding to the date of birth.

The number of appointments for c-section births on Nov. 11 was 20 percent higher this year than previous years. Expecting mothers who are due even a week after the date have scheduled to give birth on Nov. 11, Seoul Newspaper said.

“There’s always people with due dates in January who want to deliver on the first of the month, but this seems more unusual — trying to set delivery so they can have the ID number 111111,” a staffer at a maternity clinic was quoted as saying.

Nov. 11 is known as Pepero Day, or Sweetest Day, in South Korea and is similar to Valentine’s Day. It was named after the Korean snack Pepero, because the date 11/11 resembles five sticks of Pepero.

(Reporting By Iktae Park; Editing by Jeremy Laurence, Elaine Lies and Nick Macfie)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INentertainmentNews/~3/-Ky6q51J5VE/idINIndia-60413120111109

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