In Korea, however, the hospital just issues a certificate that a baby was born (출생증명서, 出生證明書). It doesn't have the name, just the parents'. You take that to your district’s office (구청, 區廳), fill out an application for a registration number (주민등록전호, 主民登錄番號), provide some other forms, pay the $12 in fees, and wait about ten days. (In fact it's a little more complicated than that for dual citizens, but we only found that out later).
Back when SY was a baby, there was no deadline, so parents would wait until the baby was at least two before they’d register it. Sometimes it was even later – in fact, SY’s parents didn’t register her oldest brother until he was about seven.
Nowadays, there’s a one month time limit before you have to pay a fine. This may sound a bit strict, but it’s this registration system that eliminates the need for a periodic census in Korea. Because everyone’s in the system, population figures are a cinch. (Want to know how many kids in any district will be attending school next year? The government already has the data.)
On my way back, I found out that there’s not only a Krispy Kreme and a 24-hour KFC, but also a 24-hour McDonald’s near the hospital. This, plus the 20 percent off ice cream sale at the hospital convenience store, has made our hospital stay far more enjoyable than I would have expected (at least for me).
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This stuff applies to dual citizens: When filling out the forms at the district office, you have to pay to get the Korean parent's 주민등록표 and 가족관계증명서 (about $1.50) and fill out the 출생신고서 form.
After 10 days, you go back and the baby's name and birthdate are reflected on the 가족관계증명서.
From there, go to the foreign country's embassy and register your baby. At the U.S. embassy, you can register the birth, apply for a passport, and apply for a Social Security number all at the same time ($150).
After two weeks, the baby's passport will come, and you can get the Korean ID number from the district office.
Note: I reserve the right to be wrong. You should check out the facts for yourself by calling the proper authorities, and not depend 100% on what you read on the Internet. :-)
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