In South Korea, more dads are taking time off work to look after their children, Korea JoongAng Daily reported on Dec 17. In the first half of 2025, fathers made up 36.4 percent of parents who took parental leave (育儿假). In 2024, 60,117 fathers took parental leave. This was the first time the number went over 60,000. These changes came after a new rule was introduced in 2024. Under the rule, if both parents take parental leave, they can receive full pay for up to six months each. The rule now applies to children up to 18 months old, rather than 12 months as in the past.