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So says the Chosun Ilbo, which presents the Korean names of a few prominent foreigners and the stories of how they got them. In May Clarence David Turner, commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Far East Division, took the Korean name Tae Geon-ho (태건호, 太建護). Mr. Turner is in charge of building a new base for the US Forces Korea. At a May 22nd press conference the ROK-US Alliance Friendship Society it was announced that, "Tae was chosen for starting with the same 'T' sound as his last name, and Eul-ji was chosen as the source of it because his base is in Euljiro." 
The Society explained, "there is significant meaning to that fact that he now shares the same family name as the famous Gogoryeo general Euljimundeok (을지문덕, 乙支文德)." The picture released by the organization shows Mr. Turner smiling cheerfully as he receives a brush painting of his Korean name. In November of last year baseball fans presented Lotte Giants manager Jerry Royster with his Korean name -- Jae Il-ho (재일호, 第一號). On the team's homepage one fan presented several candidate names, writing, "let's give our manager a Korean name". Candidate names were Jae Il-ho, Jae Hui, Noh Yi-sa, and Noh Seok-tae. As Jae Il-ho means "number one", it was selected because Mr. Royster is the first foreign manager and, Giants fans hope, best in the league. An increasing number of foreigners have been taking Korean-style names with hanja. There have always been such foreigners, but recently a new phase has been entered. Missionaries typically took Korean names to more quickly fit into Korean society, in consideration of the fact that few Koreans were familiar with English. But now it is not only missionaries but foreigners from all walks of life, re-naming themselves for fun or because they feel good about it. Korean names produce praise for foreigners who have them, making their own way in Korean society, while those who haven't been given one by a friend are somewhat "foolish". But foreigners who do have a Korean name are regarded as successes of internationalization and localization. For westerners having a Korean name is a measure of internationalization just like how well they can use chopsticks. The trend towards taking Korean names started with coach Hiddink. During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Korean soccer fans gave him the name Hui Dong-gu (희동구, 喜東丘), which sounds similar to his name. The humor of the name comes from Sangam-dong, site of the World Cup Stadium. When our country made it into the World Cup round of 16 for the first time in 48 years, on June 14th, 2002, netizens began giving coach Hiddink a pretend citizens' ID number. The number was 461108-1002016, with the address Korean Football Association, issuing authority "the citizens of the Republic of Korea", and issuance date May 31st, 2002. Of course, this ID card was not real. Hiddink's successors have also taken Korean names. Johann Bonfrere was called Jo Bong-rae (조봉래). On August 5th, 2005, a netizen called "Heart Breaks Kid" wrote on a Daum cafe that, "just today I realized we should call coach Bonfrere Jo Bong-rae." But because of coach Bonfere's poor performance this name was often used to insult him. This happened at a game between Korea and Japan in Daegu on August 7th, 2005. With Japan up 1-0, the Red Devil fans held up cards criticizing the coach and the KFA. The cards said, "Jo Bong-rae knows nothing about Korean football" and "the KFA is dumb as a beetle". Then coach Dick Advocaat was called Ah Dong-bok but no name has been as popular as Hui Dong-gu. There are increasing examples of foreigners being given Korean names whether they stay in Korea for a short or long time. When US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice attended President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration ceremony on February 25th, the Friendship Society gave her the Korean name Ra I-su (라이수, 羅梨秀). It means, "a very beautiful pear blossom flower". Netizens have called Christopher Hill, assistant secretary with the US State Department, Hil Sa-mo (힐사모) and Han Deok (한덕, 韓德), which means "Korean ethics". Wentworth Miller, who portarys Michael Scofield, the hero of the American TV series "Prison Break", is known in Korea as Seok Ho-pil (석호필, 石好弼). Korean fans of the series customarily call him that instead of his actual name. Seok Ho-pil is a name that means being proud of your traditions, and was also the Korean name of Englishman Frank Scofield, a missionary and medical scientist. Dr. Scofield was persecuted by the Japanese colonial government for spreading news of the March 1st movement to the world. Stephen G. Wood, commander of the 7th Air Force in Korea, has the Korean name Woo Chang-hui (우창희, 禹蒼熙). The Friendship Society presented Mr. Wood with a painting of the name on March 24th of this year. Woo came from the pronunciation of "wood" and so he became Mr. Woo of Osan. Chang-hui was selected for meaning "blue sky", because his task is to protect the airspace of the Korean peninsula. The group has also presented former USFK commander Burwell Bell with the name Baek Bo-guk (백보국, 白保國), and US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow with the name Park Bo-woo (박보우, 朴寶友) and his wife Lisa with the name Park Shin-yae (박신예, 朴信藝). The name Park Bo-woo connotes a wish for the continued security of the treasure of Korean-US friendship, while Baek Bo-guk means the protection of Korea. Former USFK commander Leon Laporte received the name Ra Bo-tae (라보태, 羅寶泰). After Hiddink, foreigners working or living in Korea have continued taking Korean names. Doing so helps them get easily accustomed to Korean life and can even help in business. In January of 2007 Rob Smith, chief of Eli-Lilly in Korea, took the Korean name Woo In-seong (우인성, 優人誠). Even on company reports he is listed as Woo In-seong with "original name Rob Smith" contained in parantheses, so proud he is of his nickname. There is another reason, too. The name was a gift to him from over 300 employees of Eli-Lilly. The Woo In-seong was created from the first syllables of "excellence", "respect", and "sincerity". Last year Stuart Solomon, of the American insurance company Metlife, received the name Seol Min-su (설민수, 雪敏秀)) at a dinner with journalists. Seol comes from the pronunciation of Solomon, and Min-su is a reference to the wisdom of King Solomon. Jeffrey Jones, former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, was given the name Jo Jae-pil (조재필, 趙在弼). "Park Dae-su" (박대수) is the Korean name of Paraguayan Ambassador Ceferino Valdez Peralta. Park Jong-hap, chief of public relations for the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (대한상공회의소), said, "Korea has the world's 13th-largest economy, but with the increasing number of overseas firms, more and more foreigners are taking Korean names."For other English-language articles about foreigners taking Korean names see here and here.
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[...] was thinking of this because of this Korea Beat article on Foreigner’s choosing Korean names. I’m not sure exactly how many non-Korean people are taking Korean names, or for what reason. [...]
I had 유범석 put on my credit card. Then I realised that maybe that wasn't such a smart idea, given that a white guy using both a Korean credit card and name might be a bit suspect.
Is it even legal to have an alias on your credit card?
Funny, I just use my wife's credit card. I have a Korean name. 도만수. I wanted something kind of countryside and outdated and Man-su fits the bill. I picked Do because it's an uncommon Chinese influenced name. This was during my early days in Korea and I was eager to make the point that Korea isn't a homogenous nation. I've since learned that Lee Man-su is one of Korea's most beloved baseball players, so that worked out ok.
이호건 here. 이 from my mother-in-law and 호건 from my surname, Hogan (which also is a Korean first name, so it works out.)
Hey, we also have fun with our pirate names and porn star names.
Sounds a bit more like foreigners like being gifted with Korean names more than we're seeking them out. Personally, I have TWO Korean names of my own (haha, I bet you're all dying of envy!) but I don't use either.
I've been living and working in Korea since 1994 and have felt no need to take a Korean name. Also, as Jennifer (#7) above pointed out, it seems like in most cases Koreans are giving these names instead of foreigners actively seeking out a Korean name. I have resisted taking a Korean name for the same reason I resist giving my students Western names. If I did that, I would feel like I was imposing my culture on them. No, it's far better to take the time to learn Hangul and read their names as they are meant to be read. Granted, I will give them advice on how to spell their names in English, but if they are surprised, or reluctant, I always say, "Hey it's your name. Spell it any way you want to. Just realize that if you spell it that way, for example, most English speaking people will call you "Choy" instead of "Chae". You'll just need to be patient in explaining the proper pronunciation." Getting back to the main point, if you really want to respect and understand someone, figure out how to pronounce their natural name. I found the Chosun Ilbo article above offensive, just more fodder in a long line of "us vs. them" , "our culture vs. the rest of the world" shite. Especially laughable was: "Korean names produce praise for foreigners who have them, making their own way in Korean society, while those who haven’t been given one by a friend are somewhat “foolish”." Puh-lease. Taking a name from a foreign culture to be more accepted seems very foolish to me. If people can't accept me for who I am, then to hell with them. Just as I make it a point to learn the spelling and correct pronunciation of the names of people I meet, I would expect the same of them. On the other hand, if you want to take a different name, that's your business, and it's none of mine. Very silly article, just the most recent in a long line of silly "journalism". Imagine an article in any other mature country about foreigners taking local names. "Oh, boy! Look at us! Aren't we something!" Silly, silly, silly.
하영민 here. Or if you want to get technical, 何永民. And I agree the article was a bit silly, but also pretty harmless and generally positive. Steelhorse, I don't give my students' English names either, for similar reasons to you. But it's good fun when they ask me to help them choose. A student-teacher who was at my school asked me if she should pick Julia or Jane. I thought she looked a lot more like a Julia than a Jane.
I don't know about Korean names, but I do know that foreign celebrities do love them some hanbok.
It is respectful for foreigners to take a Korean name whilst living in Korea. Thanks for the entertaining article.
I think baekgom84 is onto something. In English we'll sometimes say things like, he looks like a Steven, she looks like a Jane. Do Koreans ever say, that guy looks like a Min-su, she looks an Eun-ji, etc?
Dammit, I'm the cultural colonialist, not the colonized. Why should I take up a slave name?
I have many Korean aliases, including (but not limited to) 박지훈, 오백원, 개조심, 불조심. : )
"respectful"? seems silly to me. Names are names, and while cultures treat them differently, it's hard to see that being given a Korean name proceeds any sort of identity change along with it. Even though I have a Korean name, I'm not only not using it when I introduce myself, if someone called it out on the street I wouldn't even notice or think of it as my name. The means at which the names are arrived at seem like a quirk of whoever assigned it. As far as I can tell most are drawn from some combination of sound (what's closest to the original name?) and meaning to suit personality or job. Of the two Korean names I've recieved, one was simply a Korean girl's name that sounded kind of like my real name(the other was elaborately drawn up as a gift from a fortune teller and is supposed to enhance my chances of becoming a professor . . .) In the end, though, more than I want some new name I don't really identify with and don't use, I'd really, really, REALLY like more Koreans to learn to spell my name. You'd think my brethren J-Lo and the former Mrs. Pitt would have helped in that regard . . .
I have a Korean name (my husband chose it for me) which I've only used once. It was in a photoshop, the girl called out my name several times and of course I did not recognise it was me she was calling, so she got more and more p*ssed @ff and I ended up being what Korean called "embarassed". My parents have chosen to call me Alex, whether I like or not I have to respect their choice. no more korean names for me.
Re: giving "English" names to students. I despise this system for ever so many reasons. I hate how it perpetuates the idea that Korean names aren't "American" or whatever. I hate how students used to switch between their "English" name and their real names, leaving me twice as many to remember. I hate the fact that they all seemed to have only four or five names between them . . . how the heck did so many of my kids end up as "Brian Kim"? Anybody who gives their kids names like that because they're too lazy to remember their real names should a)Have to adopt and use a Korean name and b)Spend eternity in purgatory. I got around the business of students asking for English names by giving them elaborate and difficult names. Nobody really wanted to be called Alcibiades, surprisingly. The kid who ended up being christened Drogo wasn't too happy about it, and the guy I named Cuchulainn nearly fainted from shock.^^ But I'll say this - he looked just like a Cuchulainn ought.
Jennifer, I don't give English names either. I also find English names quite impersonal, sometimes to the point of being ridiculous, and that it means the person is often not talking for him- or herself but rather in a different persona. Like when a colleague will say something like "my name is 박xx but you can call me Sally."
Many Koreans I've met tend to assume that foreigners can't remember or pronounce Korean names, and that is part of the reason why kids have come to be given English names when learning from foreigners. But I've been told that this is what mother's want as well. To me, this is kind of demeaning though is certainly is true of many foreign teachers. I can't imagine learning Korean back home and taking a Korean name while doing it, or being addressed by that name by a Korean teacher. How would I feel about that? I think foreign teachers here should make the effort to learn all of their kids true names, as I have, and while I wouldn't go so far as to discourage the use of English names, my kids will always know that I know who they are 'in real life.' To depend on English names because they are easier for us contributes to the 'otherness' that we should be trying to mitigate while over here. My name is Gordon, and it is a very difficult name for kids here to accept--often they refuse to believe that it is my real name. But I have refused to use any of the Korean names I have been given. My name is my name--there is something unsettling and weird in the total acceptance of using an alias here that I have never been able to shake. And to say that taking a Korean name will get you praise, or make you more 'international' is more than absurd. I don't want to know anyone who can be that absurd. My life is strange enough.
I have a Korean name given to me by my taekwondo studiomates: 미란 after 장미란. I never use it. I also have Hanja given to me by a guy I went on a date with. 아만다->雅滿多. I never use it, either, in large part because I can only write the 多 character. I do however, have a dojang with 아만다 on it, and I can hold chopsticks "elegantly." That's enough for the Koreans I know. (Oh, I hated giving Koren students English names and always told them they could keep their own. Also, when I met my boyfriend he told me to call him "Daniel" and I flat refused. Why is every other man in his 20s in Korea named "Daniel?")
Apparently you can put any name you want on a credit card. My friend, who's one of those 'life's to short to learn any Korean' kind of foreign teachers, nevertheless thought it would be fun to have a Korean name; so my friends and I named him 이바보. 'Mmmm, Lee Babo' he said, rubbing his chin. 'What does that mean'? We told him it means 'handsome prince'. Then we told him to make sure he tried it out with his students on Monday.
Amanda -- Daniel Henney, of course!
It's good to know your students' real names in case you see them out in the community, as I often do. Teaching in a rural area, many adults in the community know the kids' names, and it adds to my credibility if the hear me call them by their real name - the English names (which they don't have) don't confuse them. If you happen to meet the parents, knowing/recognizing their child's name goes a good way in establishing cred and avoiding embarrassment as a teacher. I have one student who goes by an English name in class; his mother is also the only parent who has talked to me (the foreign, white teacher with only a year's experience with Korean!) twice about her son's progress in class. The first time she said her son's real name to me, it took me about a minute to realize who she was talking about, but thank goodness I actually knew his real name and could save myself from looking like an oaf.
Yu Bumsuk--making fun of foreigners who are right off the boat in Korean is not cool, but if the guy refuses to learn any Korean, let him have it! By the way, your name is hilarious. Did you choose it yourself, or was it given to you by your 'friends'? LOL
Pohang/Gordon (19)--I agree with what you wrote. My name is Brian and for years I've put up with being called "Brown-shi". Once, when moving house with my wife, we rode in the truck with one of the movers and he was hinting at (almost making) derogatory comments about our 'mixed-race' marriage, all the while calling me "Brown-shi". Normally, I let that pass, but this guy was really pissing me off, so I laid into him and told him his pronunciation really sucked, and he was an idiot. The rest of the ride was spend in comfortable silence for me, but unfortunately not so comfortable for my wife and the driver. But of course, he was an uneducated redneck.
When I was doing my undergrad degree in Chinese, we were all assigned Chinese names by our Chinese professor and were called them for the next 4 years. My Chinese name was Gao Wenbo (고문박 - 高文博) meaning someone who is cultured and knowledgeable. Korean people keel over if I tell them about that name cos it sounds terrible in Korean.
The custom of taking English names seems to be more widespread in China, where not only Hakwon but also university students, employees of companies with foreigners, and really any Chinese who interacts regularly with foreigners will offer up an English-sounding name. After moving to university, I began to use the title "Ms." plus my surname. Understanding Korean culture and strong relationship between form of address and respect, it makes me cringe to hear Korean kids call Western adults by their given names. Western elementary, middle, and high school teachers are addressed by their surnames. I don't know who started this custom in Korea. With adult students, it's fine, but no way should kids be calling Western adult teachers by their given names. No wonder some Koreans don't think foreign teachers are real teachers. I hope to hell at least foreign teachers in K-12 schools are being addressed as adults and not as "English friends."
China too, eh? Interestingly, I've never encountered anything like this in Japan. Not even once.
Ugh, I had teachers of both Japanese and Korean try and give me a "native" name at some point in the process. Hated it, and in both cases not only did I manage to avoid it, but in general the teachers didn't stick to it for long. Thank God. Sonagi ~ I think the reason for the widespread use of personal names for western teachers comes from a)the idea that westerners are more casual, and don't mind b)more familiarity with personal names than family names and at least in my case c)every other teacher in the school referring to me as "Jennifer" in front of the students. It was a looooooong, loooooooooooooooooong uphill battle to get the kids to use just my last name instead of my first. I never did manage to get them to use my title. I get the gut feeling that the custom is VERY widespread in China (EVERYONE I met there introduced themselves by their "English" name), somewhat common in Korea, and not at all in Japan because of basic assumptions about how well non-fluent foreigners can pronounce local names.
Sonagi - the kids at my school all address me by my first name instead of my last name. When I arrived at the school, the teachers didn't know how to address me, so I told them to just call me by my first name. Of course, this ended up filtering down to the kids before I could tell them any different. I don't really mind, as I never feel comfortable being referred to as 'Mr. Harrison'. Most of the kids just call me 'Teacher' anyway. Personally I think that's the best of the lot. We should use 'Teacher' in schools back home!
I agree. English names for Korean kids are awfully silly. I use real names in all my classes. In my first few months here, discipline was a bit of a problem. Learning every students' name played a big part in restoring order to the classroom. It's more helpful to tell Min-seok to stop, instead of asking "Steve" to stop. I do have a Korean name. It's 마태규. Speaking of, I had a boy forget his name card. When I read the name on the front of his book, I called out, "일기정" 3 syllables. It sounded and looked like a name. It means diary. The nickname has stuck. I'm sure the kid curses my name every time someone calls him "Diary."
When a foreigner naturalizes and takes Korean citizenship, part of the drill is being forced to abandon your "non-Korean" name and adopt (and register!) a "Korean" name. What's disappointing about this is that Koreans will never let go of their bitterness over the Japanese practice of compelling Koreans to adopt Japanese names, while at the same time forcing us foreigners to go through the same outrage. If some guy wants to change his name to Bum-Suk or Yusuf Islam, that's his choice. But the state ought to stay the hell out of that issue -- in fact, the state does leave co-ethnic Koreans alone when they want to name their children some hippie name like "Moonbeam".
Interestingly, I’ve never encountered anything like this in Japan. Not even once. Yup, you're right. The Japanese take a different attitude towards English names. I taught at a the private K-12 expatriate school in China with a student body that was majority Korean, and 95% East Asian. The school had a policy of assigning English nicknames to Asian students. The Japanese parents successfully resisted through their school liaison; hence, the Japanese kids all kept their original names while the Korean and Chinese kids all had English names. When I joined the staff, I vocally opposed automatically assigning English names to Korean and Chinese kids, and the school softened its approach by asking rather than requiring kids to take one. Most parents opted for their children to be addressed by English names. "What’s disappointing about this is that Koreans will never let go of their bitterness over the Japanese practice of compelling Koreans to adopt Japanese names, while at the same time forcing us foreigners to go through the same outrage." That's a great point, Brendon. The only counterpoint I would offer is that Koreans were all forced to become the emperor's subjects after Korea was annexed. A foreigner has a choice of whether or not to take citizenship. Nevertheless, if Koreans are truly going to embrace multiculturalism, then they need to get rid of that requirement. I suspect it is maintained mostly for convenience. Many documents, forms, and databases cannot handle more than four or five syllables in the name section.
"I don’t really mind, as I never feel comfortable being referred to as ‘Mr. Harrison’. This is probably because you were almost never addressed that way back home. I had to get used to being called Ms. ----, but once I got used to it, I liked it. As I said, school teachers in North America are almost always addressed by a title and surname, and teachers use these forms with each other when speaking in front of the kids. Back in college, I worked part-time for TJ Maxx. Our managers and assistant managers were all addressed by titles and surnames while the "associates" were addressed by their given names. Back then, before I'd even thought about heading to Asia, I felt uncomfortable seeing a 22-year-old fresh college grad calling a 50-something clerk by her given name while the woman old enough to be the assistant manager's mother called her "Ms. ---."
Whatever language I've been playing around with, I've always wanted to take on a name. If the teacher doesn't give one, I ask for one. I have been given some really great names. The challenge is to live up to them!
Uh, while learning spanish, i had a spanish name. that in no way made me wish to be spanish, or feel spanish. i never felt i was transformed into a spanish persona, either. it was for familiarity of common names, i assume. no one is forcing (i hope) any name on anyone. take an english name or don't. take one if you want one. don't take one if you don't want one. i've gotten better at pronouncing korean names only since being exposed to hearing/saying them. if i'm learning a language in a class full of people, consistently hearing how names are pronounced in that language is valuable. it's not demeaning. it has educational value. i think some of you may have issues with what effect you perceive to have on your students, the culture here, and/or the country itself. relax. don't take yourself so seriously.
With adult students, it's fine, but no way should kids be calling Western adult teachers by their given names. I have students use my given name only because my family name is distinctly ethnic, and not a single Korean student (or employer for that matter) has ever been able to say it without mangling it badly. I gave up on them calling me Mr.(lastname) simply out of exhaustion from correcting them. As for choosing a name in the language you are studying? I don't see the problem as long as it's an actual proper name and not something like Mazinger-Z or Batman's Underwear or Hello Kitty (yes, all were "names" used by previous students). I just don't FORCE students to take an English name. It's not my place as a teacher to do so. However, I teach uni tourism majors, so I usually have a discussion once a semester with those who go on to intern abroad, and talk to them about appropriate English names (if they are going to adopt one) or for students whose Korean names may be a point of teasing and jokes when abroad (eg. 범석) to CONSIDER taking a less embarrassing (in English) name. As an aside, when I speak Korean I do have a Korean name, but most of my Korean friends know about and use my "joke" Korean nickname instead (박치기). In Japan, I used a Japanese name as well. |
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