An 18-year-old male medium is haunted by the ghost of a 39-year-old mother who died in 2012. 2023 Arc: He can touch her. She can't cook for him, but she can whisper in his ear. The tragedy: she can never age with him.

, a prominent South Korean series, centered on a pregnant single mother who enters a fake relationship with an OB-GYN, exploring the complexities of co-parenting and unexpected romance.

Across these mediums, creators in 2023 re-examined maternal identities, newfound independence, and complex romantic structures, shifting away from idealized tropes to embrace high-stakes, emotionally realistic narratives. The Evolution of the Single Mother Romance Trope in 2023