Korean babies have a womb-time nickname, some as hilariously adorable as 'Poop'
Lee, a mother of two daughters, often calls her eldest “poop,” a nickname she gave to her from when she was in the womb.
“I just thought it was cute. 'Ddong' (meaning poop in Korean) sounds funny, and for some reason, it felt perfect for this little creature tumbling around in my belly,” Lee told The Korea Herald.
Lee isn’t the only one who thinks poop makes a cute "taemyeong," a womb-time nickname that literally means "fetus name." It’s actually quite popular among many Korean moms-to-be.
Rapper Truedy, best known as the winner of Mnet’s hit female rapper competition "Unpretty Rapstar 2," recently shared on Instagram that she was expecting her first child, and that she’s given the baby the taemyeong “geum-ddong,” meaning “golden poop.”
Comedian Hong Hyun-hee also dubbed her now 2-year-old son "ddong-byeol," a mashup of the Korean words for poop and star.
Besides poop, Korean prenatal nicknames come in all shapes and flavors.
Food-inspired nicknames are common, reflecting mother's favorite cravings while expecting, like watermelon or strawberry.
Others may seem like ordinary foods or vegetables, but they carry warm wishes for the baby’s health. For example, chaltteok (sticky rice cake) reflects the hope that the baby will stay safely in the womb and not be miscarried. Yeolmu, which literally refers to a young radish, carries a wish for an smooth, uneventful 10-month pregnancy, as "yeol" sounds the same with the number 10 and mu is associated with zero.
Emotional bridge for prenatal education
The widespread use of fetal names is also linked to a Korean culture that emphasizes prenatal education, known as taegyo, and the importance of building a bond between parents and their unborn babies from early on. While its educational effects haven’t been scientifically proven, taegyo is very much a thing in Korea and goes far beyond simply reading stories, listening to music or speaking softly to the unborn baby.
It is also common for expectant moms to keep pregnancy journals, addressing their unborn babies by name and already nurturning emotional attachment to them, even before birth.
Meanwhile, to some foreign parents, giving a taemyeong feels like a thoughtful step before choosing the baby’s real name.
Sean Beaudette, an American father who once called his now 6-month-old daughter mandu (Korean-style dumpling) while she was still in his Korean wife’s womb, said, “Parents have to wait 10 months to meet their child, so they might change their minds if they choose a name too early. They could also realize the name doesn’t match the baby once they’re born. The taemyeong is a handy nickname that works as a placeholder until the child arrives.”
Watching the baby stick to the side of the womb during an ultrasound scan, he was instantly reminded of a potsticker in a TGI Fridays commercial he had seen during his college days, leading to the nickname mandu.
Korean babies having a womb-time name has a practical reason as well.
Under current law, parents in Korea are required to register their baby’s birth within 30 days, either online or at a local district office. That’s quite different from the US and some other countries, where parents usually fill out the birth certificate at the hospital shortly after delivery, often requiring them to decide on a legal name in advance.
In Korea, the 30-day window gives parents time to ponder on the baby’s official name after birth. It’s not uncommon for new parents to take a couple of weeks to make the final decision. Until then, having a taemyung to call the baby by comes in handy.
If you're a foreign visitor in a Korean maternity ward, you might be surprised to see newborns swaddled in blankets wearing name tags that sound more like jokes than real names.
Don’t be surprised if your Korean friend’s newborn is named “poop.” It doesn’t mean the baby looks like one!
