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Abstract:
This is a literature research on Taegyo, a traditional Korean form of prenatal education. The purpose of the paper is to share the prenatal education in Korean traditional society through 'Taegyo singi' and to help to understand fundamental principles of prenatal education and to find the significance of it in modern times. The composition and contents of 'Taegyo singi' are identified. Concrete methods of Taegyo can help the mind be calm and can make the person become more respectful. Taegyo can make people more caring for others in mind, words, and deeds. The pregnant woman is taught to be cautious of the food she eats (those that are allowed and those that are forbidden). Traditional prenatal education is based on the wisdom of ancestors who desired balanced life between human and human, and even human and nature, which could proceed from 'harmony' as Korean cultural traits.
Keywords: Taegyo, Taegyo singi, prenatal education, Korean
Taegyo is a traditional Korean set of practices and beliefs about prenatal education for pregnant women. Asian cultures, including Korea, consider Taegyo important because the human being is considered to be already developed from the moment of conception.
According to Chung (2014) the principles of Taegyo presuppose parental influence on temperament formation, and that the emotional states of the mother in the prenatal and pre pregnancy periods are the most influential variable in a child's temperament formation. The methods of Taegyo presuppose that the human mind interacts with behavior. Emotional support from family members, promoting 'jon-sim' (serene mind) and 'chung-sim' (upright mind) are key methods of Taegyo. The Korean tradition of Taegyo is focused on the emotional domain of development, especially emotional regulation.
Almost 200 years ago during the Joseon Dynasty, Sajudang Lee wrote 'Taegyo singi,' a book which opened new prospects in the field of prenatal development. Lee was a Confucian and Silhak (practical) scholar. She was 62 years old in 1800 when she finished writing the book. She was not a doctor, but a distinguished scholar who studied Chinese and Korean medicine. Women in the Joseon Dynasty typically were not socially independent and active, but she made a difference.
Even before Lee wrote her book, Korean Buddhist, Taoist, and Shamans were already knowledgeable about Taegyo. Lee states that...