Detail

In Korean, there are many words used to describe the young of animals. Through these expressions, we can glimpse the wisdom and affection of our ancestors, who carefully distinguished each stage of a newborn’s growth and gave it a name that precisely matched its appearance. The Korea Post introduces Korean terms used to refer to baby animals. Korean terms for baby animals can be traced to their roots in historical documents and folk records. `Gaehoju`, meaning a tiger cub, and `Neungsoni`, referring to a bear cub, illustrate a characteristic of the Korean language that viewed wild animals living alongside humans as familiar beings. Likewise, expressions such as `Dongburegi`, meaning a calf old enough to begin growing horns, and `Aedot`, meaning a one-year-old pig, vividly show the delicate insight of our ancestors, who observed the growth of life and captured its changes in names. The practice of giving each young animal a unique name, instead of using the general word saekki (Korean word for the young of animals), likely stemmed from a mindset that fully acknowledged and cherished each being. Although these words are no longer commonly used in everyday life, recording and remembering them is a meaningful way to preserve the diversity of Korean culture and its ecological sensitivity. Through this stamp series, which brings together the cute images of baby animals and their distinctive names, we hope people can feel the warm humanity of the Korean language and the preciousness of life.