South Korea’s female employment pattern is moving away from the M-curve, as the employment rate for women in their 30s reached 74% from January to August this year. The rate has risen for five consecutive years from 64.4% in 2022, while employment among women aged 35 to 39 entered the 70% range. The shift reflects more women remaining in work after childbirth, alongside increased non-marriage and later marriage among women in their late 30s and early 40s. The career interruption rate for women fell to 14.9% last year from 21.7% in 2015, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.