Korean names and there pronunciation

Anhyong haseyo. Post Korean related stuff here.
Post Reply
Kayote
Posts: 81
Joined: Feb 1st, '05, 00:16
Location: London

Korean names and there pronunciation

Post by Kayote » Apr 5th, '06, 22:05

Im really in the mood for making threads today so here's my second. 8)

This has been on my mind for quite a while now so I ask today. Is it just me or the way the Korean pronounce there names is totally different to how they spell it (in English of course). Ive been watching Kdramas for less than 2 yrs but still find Korean names to be very hard to remember (seriously, I only remember Jeon Ji Hyun) even when compared to Japanese names.

Anyone else felt like that?

Saragorn
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 627
Joined: Jun 28th, '05, 07:18
Location: US

Post by Saragorn » Apr 5th, '06, 23:12

Well, I can't actually correctly pronounce a lot of the sounds in Korean, and since there are several methods for romanizing the hangul, I can't always tell how something should be pronounced unless I see the actual characters. In "Jeon Ji Hyun," I would normally think "Jeon" and "Hyun" would have the same vowel sound, but if someone romanized the whole name, then the "yu" in "hyun" seems like it would be a "yoo" sound (like the English word "you")--unless it's just a spelling mistake. I only somewhat recently mostly learned the korean alphabet (hangul or hangeul), so I'm still really bad at these things. :crazy: Oh, and I've gotten better at names, but I find that I start to forget characters' names from dramas I've finished unless there's something specifically memorable about it, like Kim Sam Soon, or the way KDW says "Joo Yoo Rin" all the time in My Girl. :)

mangosteen
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 1370
Joined: Apr 13th, '04, 15:59
Location: California

Post by mangosteen » Apr 6th, '06, 23:13

I find Korean names easier to remember :) Can't really remember a Japanese name ,lol.

KoreanMania
Posts: 726
Joined: Jan 21st, '06, 02:34
Location: Home Sweet Home : )

Post by KoreanMania » Apr 6th, '06, 23:18

mangosteen wrote:I find Korean names easier to remember :) Can't really remember a Japanese name ,lol.
:lol Same here... Korean names sounds less complicated than Japanese names... the only ones I can remember right now is Takuya Kimura and Takenouchi...forgot.... :P Oh, and Takeshi Kaneshiro...the rest...total blank...haha

OvertheRainbow
Posts: 850
Joined: Nov 25th, '05, 17:35
Location: Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?
Contact:

Post by OvertheRainbow » Apr 6th, '06, 23:21

I can remeber my Japanese friend's first names because they're so short like sachi, tomoko but their last names are so long :crazy: ...btw, you spelled "their" wrong :P

cuteangelika
Posts: 239
Joined: Feb 6th, '05, 03:32
Location: New Zealand
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by cuteangelika » Apr 7th, '06, 06:23

Agree.. and I noticed that sometimes Yun and Yoon are used inter-changeably. I mean, are these romanized names the same?

galaxiechic
Posts: 12
Joined: Nov 30th, '05, 17:05
Location: Asia

Post by galaxiechic » Apr 7th, '06, 13:08

i'm not an expert of korean names... but from what i noe.. the hangeul alphabet has no fixed romanzation, so it can be interpreted differently by different ppl
eg. yun n yoon are both윤....
Last edited by galaxiechic on Apr 7th, '06, 13:19, edited 1 time in total.

Néa Vanille
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 778
Joined: Mar 26th, '05, 08:35
Location: Seoul, South Korea (whooooza!)

Post by Néa Vanille » Apr 7th, '06, 13:15

I used to be confused by how Koreans pronounced Korean names until I actually learned Hangeul, read the pages on pronounciation in 'Teach Yourself Korean' and did a few of the first units. Now, Korean is A LOT clearer to me, I have a feeling for the language whenever I watch a drama and I am able to understand the simplest of all phrases. Though it isn't enough to understand a drama without subs, of course, it's like I finally find Korean sentences logical and the sounds nice and familiar now that I've learned the basics. So, this is what I recommend you do. :-)

Tristiseye
Posts: 11
Joined: Apr 2nd, '05, 04:14

Post by Tristiseye » Apr 7th, '06, 13:41

There are two systems of romanization, actually, in the Korean system. The one that is used more was developed in 1982, I believe, and it's probably reflected most in the romanization in drama titles now. (ex. Goong) However, in Korea, there is an attempt to have it standardized, but there are so many signs to change, so you'll see the multiple ways to romanize something just a few feet away. Ex: the city "Daegu" can be seen as "Taegu" as well. Anyway, the problem with Korean lies in the fact that that a sound is not distinctly or another: ex. the 'k/g' sound. It's not exactly either sound, like in English; so that's why you get discrepancies.

But I digress. Sorry for the long post.

Kayote
Posts: 81
Joined: Feb 1st, '05, 00:16
Location: London

Post by Kayote » Apr 7th, '06, 20:44

Tristiseye wrote:There are two systems of romanization, actually, in the Korean system. The one that is used more was developed in 1982, I believe, and it's probably reflected most in the romanization in drama titles now. (ex. Goong) However, in Korea, there is an attempt to have it standardized, but there are so many signs to change, so you'll see the multiple ways to romanize something just a few feet away. Ex: the city "Daegu" can be seen as "Taegu" as well. Anyway, the problem with Korean lies in the fact that that a sound is not distinctly or another: ex. the 'k/g' sound. It's not exactly either sound, like in English; so that's why you get discrepancies.

But I digress. Sorry for the long post.
It makes sense ... I think! :salut:
OvertheRainbow wrote: I can remeber my Japanese friend's first names because they're so short like sachi, tomoko but their last names are so long ...btw, you spelled "their" wrong
Argh! Excuse my english!

I actually find the japanese names easier, its also to do with the fact that most Korean names have 3 'words' in them rather than 2 names. Having said that I still find Arabic names quite difficult (but they are still my fav names :))

Edit: quote corrected!
Last edited by Kayote on Apr 7th, '06, 21:04, edited 1 time in total.

OvertheRainbow
Posts: 850
Joined: Nov 25th, '05, 17:35
Location: Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?
Contact:

Post by OvertheRainbow » Apr 7th, '06, 20:50

Kayote wrote:
OvertheRainbow wrote: I can remeber my Japanese friend's first names because they're so short like sachi, tomoko but their last names are so long ...btw, you spelled "their" wrong
Argh! Excuse my english!
Lol...I was just kidding...nobody notices the smiey faces anymore....

groink
Posts: 2016
Joined: Dec 8th, '03, 03:58
Location: Pearl City, Hawaii
Been thanked: 1 time

Post by groink » Apr 7th, '06, 21:25

Funny how in many Korean threads, the comparison to Japanese come up right out of the blue... :roll

--- groink

sorasora
Posts: 18
Joined: Mar 17th, '06, 05:52

Post by sorasora » Apr 11th, '06, 17:12

actually there arent that many letters in the korean alphabet. the alpahbet is split into 14 main consonants and 10 main vowels. but there are some consonants called "ssang (blank)" this means like two letters put together. Together they make a different sound. for example "Ah-SSAH!" the "ssah" part is a double of the letter ㅅ. so in korean it looks like this 싸. there are also vowels that are put together to make sounds like "ae". i dunno. i'm korean so it's kinda hard to explain. haha, for me its like common knowledge...

so yeah but i agree korean names are easier to remember (not just cuz i'm korean).

intercar
Posts: 5
Joined: Feb 16th, '06, 03:46

Post by intercar » Apr 12th, '06, 20:34

groink wrote:Funny how in many Korean threads, the comparison to Japanese come up right out of the blue... :roll

--- groink
don't read to much into things groink. it's prob. because k and j dramas are the most dominate it seems in asia.

Nadil
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 864
Joined: Feb 12th, '06, 16:48
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by Nadil » Apr 12th, '06, 20:50

Maybe I'm stupid, but I can't remember either korean nor japanese names. :P especially korean names are difficult for me as hell :lol
but it doesn't matter, I like k/j dramas very much :wub:

dima
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 93
Joined: Sep 21st, '04, 20:16
Location: Poznan, Poland
Contact:

Re: Korean names and there pronunciation

Post by dima » Apr 14th, '06, 15:05

Kayote wrote:Im really in the mood for making threads today so here's my second. 8)

This has been on my mind for quite a while now so I ask today. Is it just me or the way the Korean pronounce there names is totally different to how they spell it (in English of course). Ive been watching Kdramas for less than 2 yrs but still find Korean names to be very hard to remember (seriously, I only remember Jeon Ji Hyun) even when compared to Japanese names.

Anyone else felt like that?
You are absolutely right! What were they thinking of? I can sort of understand this when it comes to names, because nearly every name has a Hanja spelling which reads rather differently if you speak Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese instead of Korean, so in a sense they are used to having several spellings or several pronunciations or sometimes several entirely different names (that's some asian thing). Government officials really puzzle me though, "Revised Romanization of Korean", right...

Btw. I'm still to meet the first person who can pronounce Hyundai :P

User avatar
skyami0830
Posts: 20
Joined: Apr 2nd, '05, 20:06
Location: Korea...I wish >_<

Post by skyami0830 » Apr 16th, '06, 22:22

Btw. I'm still to meet the first person who can pronounce Hyundai
haha i always crack up when i hear something like "hondai" "hon day" in their american commercials.

japanese names are harder for me to remember, but probably cuz i'm korean. i think they have too many syllables..

Kayote
Posts: 81
Joined: Feb 1st, '05, 00:16
Location: London

Re: Korean names and there pronunciation

Post by Kayote » Apr 16th, '06, 23:12

dima wrote: You are absolutely right! What were they thinking of? I can sort of understand this when it comes to names, because nearly every name has a Hanja spelling which reads rather differently if you speak Mandarin, Cantonese or Japanese instead of Korean, so in a sense they are used to having several spellings or several pronunciations or sometimes several entirely different names (that's some asian thing). Government officials really puzzle me though, "Revised Romanization of Korean", right...

Btw. I'm still to meet the first person who can pronounce Hyundai :P
You made me chuckle.

So Im intrigued now. Exactly how DO you pronounce it?

To me its something like this:

Hyundai = Hi-un-dae-e

Ssang
Posts: 148
Joined: Feb 26th, '06, 07:06

Post by Ssang » Apr 17th, '06, 00:50

I don't abide by any romanizatoin system stricly, but I do prefer to spell all "uh" sounds with the "eo". Thus --> Jeon Ji Hyeon instead of Jun Ji Hyun. Sometimes I break that rule for names like "Sun Young" -- which otherwise would be spelled "Seon Yeong."

I wonder how people here pronounce a name like "Choi Ji Woo"? It's pronounced "Chweh Jee Oo" Though the w in the "Chweh" isn't supposed to be noticable while the "Oo" has a small "w" sound -- so it's correct as "Cheh Jee Woo" too.

It's funny though when Korean Americans with the last name "Choi" pronounce their own names as "Choy" (rhymes with toy). It's funny because it's wrong and yet they're Korean...

dima
Fansubber
Fansubber
Posts: 93
Joined: Sep 21st, '04, 20:16
Location: Poznan, Poland
Contact:

Re: Korean names and there pronunciation

Post by dima » Apr 22nd, '06, 10:49

Kayote wrote: You made me chuckle.

So Im intrigued now. Exactly how DO you pronounce it?

To me its something like this:

Hyundai = Hi-un-dae-e
Hönde

ö like in her
e like in heh

really a short word, means modern btw

Kookie315
Posts: 108
Joined: Mar 12th, '06, 03:54
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by Kookie315 » May 5th, '06, 13:00

Well Japanese is more straight-forward and has a lot of the same sounds as English besides the whole "r" and "l" and "d" sounds that kind of confuse people sometimes. But Korean has some really unique sounds and spellings so it's harder for me. I don't speak either fluently, but I find it easier to remember Japanese names and pick up Japanese easier then I can with Korean. And also because Koreans have a lot of the same syllables in their names like "Jung" and "Hoon" etc...

altair
Posts: 9
Joined: Feb 11th, '06, 06:12

Post by altair » May 9th, '06, 10:38

There is a new official Romanization scheme

Romanization of Korean names here

http://www.metro.daejeon.kr/english/lif ... fkorea.jsp


If you can read Korean

http://www.korean.go.kr/000_new/80_s03_c4.htm


another one here

http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020303

Kookie315
Posts: 108
Joined: Mar 12th, '06, 03:54
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by Kookie315 » May 9th, '06, 11:12

altair wrote:There is a new official Romanization scheme

Romanization of Korean names here

http://www.metro.daejeon.kr/english/lif ... fkorea.jsp


If you can read Korean

http://www.korean.go.kr/000_new/80_s03_c4.htm


another one here

http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020303
That's cool, thanks for the links.

*Lifo*
Posts: 221
Joined: Dec 5th, '05, 17:33
Location: ~::UAE::~

Post by *Lifo* » May 9th, '06, 11:33

Korean is ALOT harder than Japanese!!
I don't like the Korean language, talk about C.O.M.P.L.I.C.A.T.E.D !!
and Japanese is much easier and more fun ^_^
another thing is remmebering Korean names is harder, I so don't like thier names $_$

User avatar
tringo
Posts: 79
Joined: Oct 17th, '05, 07:27
Location: Sweden

Post by tringo » May 9th, '06, 12:19

So there isn't any fixed romanization even if they try to make a standard?
I found it a bit interesting since I watched some dramas where they translated the background songs (like in goong) to "romanizationed" Korean (how do I inflect/conjugate the word romanization?). So I could hear the actual pronunciation and at the same time trying to read the romanzation. I read it trying to use the "English alphabet" and the "Swedish" and thought that the Swedish pronunciation sounded actually more accurate. For example The Swedish "u" and "i" sounded more correct and we also use a rolling "r"...but maybe that's because English isn't my native tongue and there is no Korean standard... :-)

listen to the Swedish alphabet
http://web.hhs.se/isa/swedish/chap9.htm#pronunciation

altair
Posts: 9
Joined: Feb 11th, '06, 06:12

Post by altair » May 9th, '06, 13:22

The government mandated New Romanization is standard.

The three links that I gave follow the same rules.


I agree that Korean pronunciation is much harder than Japanese. Sometimes, even the natives have a hard time differentiating between the sounds (e.g. 레 and 래)

altair
Posts: 9
Joined: Feb 11th, '06, 06:12

Post by altair » May 9th, '06, 13:31

The problem with the New Romanization would be with the established business names

like

현대 -> romanized as Hyundai
real Korean pronunciation is Hyun (as in Jeon Ji-Hyun) Dae (as in Daehanminguk)
if the new Romanization is followed
현대 == Hyeondae

adigoni
Posts: 62
Joined: Jul 6th, '07, 13:42

Post by adigoni » Aug 6th, '10, 09:24

Please help me to find somewhere a hangul font from free, THANX

User avatar
Keiko1981
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 7561
Joined: Apr 9th, '06, 11:27
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 82 times
Contact:
Sweden

Post by Keiko1981 » Mar 23rd, '13, 23:05

I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."
There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?

Ethlenn
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 7226
Joined: Jun 28th, '09, 18:16
Contact:

Post by Ethlenn » Mar 24th, '13, 10:51

In Korea wife retains her maiden's name, while kids have father's name.

User avatar
Keiko1981
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 7561
Joined: Apr 9th, '06, 11:27
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 82 times
Contact:
Sweden

Post by Keiko1981 » Mar 24th, '13, 11:00

Ethlenn wrote:In Korea wife retains her maiden's name, while kids have father's name.
I see, thank you for the answer. :)

y0ssy
Posts: 228
Joined: Nov 2nd, '09, 09:52

Post by y0ssy » Feb 8th, '14, 05:39

altair wrote:The problem with the New Romanization would be with the established business names

like

현대 -> romanized as Hyundai
real Korean pronunciation is Hyun (as in Jeon Ji-Hyun) Dae (as in Daehanminguk)
if the new Romanization is followed
현대 == Hyeondae
I agree with you. It sounds really strange when the actual pronunciation of Hyeondae turns out as Hyundai.
So it took me quite a while to figure out that my friend was referring to the car maker. :pale:
I doubt the established business names like Hyundai would change it to Hyeondae.

y0ssy
Posts: 228
Joined: Nov 2nd, '09, 09:52

Post by y0ssy » Feb 8th, '14, 06:11

Keiko1981 wrote:I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."

There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?

Extracted from http://www.planetesl.com/resources/society.html .... "Korean women retain their maiden surname after they get married. They do not use their husband's surname since family surnames are reserved only for people with blood ties."

"People with the same surname who come from the same ancestral hometown are not allowed to marry each other. This is because they are considered family members, even if they are only distantly related. Consequently, when people are attracted to a person with the same surname, they typically will ask for that person's ancestral hometown right away."

BUT ....
If that's true then what about the show LOST? The Korean couple both had the same name?
Read the best answer given here.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 526AA2iDbt

User avatar
Keiko1981
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 7561
Joined: Apr 9th, '06, 11:27
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 82 times
Contact:
Sweden

Post by Keiko1981 » Feb 19th, '14, 17:26

y0ssy wrote:
Keiko1981 wrote:I'm wondering if two person's can get married and both keep their family name?
It looks like that's the case with this example.
In Dear My Sister there's a married couple Lee Eunyeong and Seo Dongjun.
What I've seen so for others have only called Eunyeong. "Lee Eunyeong" not "Seo Eunyeong."

There isn't any law that the wife should take the husband's family name?

Extracted from http://www.planetesl.com/resources/society.html .... "Korean women retain their maiden surname after they get married. They do not use their husband's surname since family surnames are reserved only for people with blood ties."

"People with the same surname who come from the same ancestral hometown are not allowed to marry each other. This is because they are considered family members, even if they are only distantly related. Consequently, when people are attracted to a person with the same surname, they typically will ask for that person's ancestral hometown right away."
Some confusion here...
Again family names in Dear My Sister.

Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.

So the correct verison would be like this?

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."

y0ssy
Posts: 228
Joined: Nov 2nd, '09, 09:52

Post by y0ssy » Feb 20th, '14, 14:32

Keiko1981 wrote:Some confusion here...
Again family names in Dear My Sister.

Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.

So the correct verison would be like this?

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."
Using Personal Titles #4: Miss, Mrs., Ms., Ma'am, by Dennis Oliver
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_pe ... les04.html

Kang Insuk (married to Kim Jinguk) = Mrs. Kim Jinguk or Ms. Kang Insuk
Lee Eunyeong (married to Kang Junmo) = Mrs. Kang Junmo or Ms. Lee Eunyeong

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim (or Ms. Kang).
The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kang (or Ms. Lee) will get better in no time."

User avatar
Keiko1981
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 7561
Joined: Apr 9th, '06, 11:27
Location: Sweden
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 82 times
Contact:
Sweden

Post by Keiko1981 » Feb 20th, '14, 14:38

y0ssy wrote:
Keiko1981 wrote:Some confusion here...
Again family names in Dear My Sister.

Kang Insuk (married to the doctor Kim Jinguk): "Eunju worked hard today"

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kim (she's talking about Lee Eunyeong here, married to Kang Junmo) will get better in no time.

So the correct verison would be like this?

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kang. The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun. Mrs. Lee will get better in no time."
Using Personal Titles #4: Miss, Mrs., Ms., Ma'am, by Dennis Oliver
http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/using_pe ... les04.html

Kang Insuk (married to Kim Jinguk) = Mrs. Kim Jinguk or Ms. Kang Insuk
Lee Eunyeong (married to Kang Junmo) = Mrs. Kang Junmo or Ms. Lee Eunyeong

Eunju: "Don't mention it, Mrs. Kim (or Ms. Kang).
The apartment is on the first floor, but it gets a lot of sun.
Mrs. Kang (or Ms. Lee) will get better in no time."
Thank you for the help. :salut:

y0ssy
Posts: 228
Joined: Nov 2nd, '09, 09:52

Post by y0ssy » Feb 20th, '14, 14:39

@Keiko1981
I think you may find this write-up by Palash Ghosh an interesting read. :-)
Kim, Park And Lee: Why Do Koreans Have So Few Surnames?

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests