The Perception of Children in Folk Paintings of the Late Chosun Period

조선 후기 풍속화를 통해 본 아동인식

This study of 54 folk paintings of the late chosen period analyzed the perception of children of that period. Three types of children's activities were identified: children playing, children working hard, and children studying hard. Only boys participated in these activities along with their parents or grandparents: girls were relegated to the background, along the fence. Conclusions were that people recognized play as a natural part of childhood. children's lives were defined by social status: children of the yangban (upper) class had to study hard for their family's honor while children of the lower classes had to labor for their family's livelihood, children were recognized as members of a family and a community. Boys were considered important because they were heirs to the family fortune: girls were to be supportive of men and family.