Korean Names in English Letters
Hong Gildong, Hong Gil-dong or HONG GILDONG? Kim or Gim? Korea has an official romanization system with a rule for personal names, passports follow a rule of their own, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes how people actually spell their names. This guide puts the three together.
The Rule for Personal Names
The Revised Romanization of Korean (국어의 로마자 표기법, a notice of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) has an article on personal names, chapter 3, article 4. The surname comes first, followed by a space, and the given name is written as one word; a hyphen between the syllables of the given name is allowed. Its examples are 민용하 Min Yongha (Min Yong-ha) and 송나리 Song Nari (Song Na-ri).
The same article says that sound changes inside a name are not written. 한복남 is pronounced with [봉], 홍빛나 with [빈], yet the names are Han Boknam and Hong Bitna. Place names and ordinary words do show such changes (종로 is Jongno), names do not.
The Letters
Each Hangul letter has a fixed Roman spelling. A few need attention: ㅓ is eo, ㅡ is eu, ㅢ is ui even when it is read as ㅣ, and ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ and ㄹ are g, d, b and r before a vowel but k, t, p and l at the end of a syllable. A final consonant is written in the sound it has there, so ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ and ㅌ at the end of a syllable become t.
| Hangul | Roman letters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㅓ | eo | 서 → Seo |
| ㅡ | eu | 은 → Eun |
| ㅢ | ui | 희 → Hui |
| ㅚ | oe | 최 → Choe |
| ㅐ / ㅔ | ae / e | 재 → Jae, 세 → Se |
| ㅕ / ㅛ / ㅠ | yeo / yo / yu | 연 → Yeon, 효 → Hyo, 유 → Yu |
| ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ | g d b / k t p | 길 → Gil, 석 → Seok |
| ㄹ | r / l | 란 → Ran, 철 → Cheol |
| ㅈ ㅊ | j ch | 지 → Ji, 찬 → Chan |
| ㅅ ㅆ ㅈ ㅊ ㅌ (final consonant) | t | 빛 → Bit |
Surnames: No Official Spelling
For surnames the rule says only that their spelling "will be set separately", and no such rule has been issued. Letter by letter, 김 is Gim, 이 is I and 박 is Bak, but the spellings in use are different. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs counted the spellings on valid passports for 20 major surnames (31 October 2024):
| Surname | Letter by letter | On valid passports (share of holders) |
|---|---|---|
| 강 | GANG | KANG 98.98% |
| 권 | GWON | KWON 85.79%, GWON 7.89%, KWEON 3.39% |
| 김 | GIM | KIM 99.55%, GIM 0.42% |
| 박 | BAK | PARK 96.59%, BAK 1.61%, PAK 1.51% |
| 배 | BAE | BAE 96.97% |
| 백 | BAEK | BAEK 74.37%, BACK 9.49%, BAIK 6.04% |
| 서 | SEO | SEO 91.23%, SUH 6.86% |
| 송 | SONG | SONG 99.76% |
| 신 | SIN | SHIN 95.94%, SIN 3.77% |
| 오 | O | OH 99.41% |
| 유 | YU | YOO 39.16%, YU 35.79%, YOU 15.33%, RYU 7.83% |
| 윤 | YUN | YOON 49.40%, YUN 41.82%, YOUN 8.51% |
| 이 | I | LEE 98.77%, YI 0.92% |
| 임 | IM | LIM 71.28%, IM 23.35%, YIM 3.25% |
| 장 | JANG | JANG 88.40%, CHANG 11.30% |
| 전 | JEON | JEON 73.63%, JUN 17.91%, CHUN 4.65% |
| 정 | JEONG | JUNG 46.13%, JEONG 42.48%, CHUNG 7.13%, JOUNG 1.78%, CHEONG 0.56% |
| 조 | JO | CHO 67.85%, JO 31.33% |
| 최 | CHOE | CHOI 94.45%, CHOE 5.26% |
| 한 | HAN | HAN 99.54% |
The list includes only spellings that at least 10,000 holders or half of the holders use, so the shares of one surname can add up to less than 100%. For 정 the two main spellings are almost level: JUNG 46.13% and JEONG 42.48%.
Korean Passports: Syllable by Syllable
The Enforcement Rule of the Passport Act (article 2-2) says that the name in the family register is romanized by the official rules syllable by syllable, with the given name joined and hyphens allowed. The ministry's own examples are HONG GILDONG and KIM BITNA. Writing every syllable on its own also settles cases the general rules leave open: 석우 becomes SEOKU or SEOK-U.
The passport office also accepts a space between the syllables of the given name. If a registered Hangul name is the transcription of a foreign name, the foreign spelling may be used (김에스더 as KIM ESTHER). Titles, degrees and numbers such as DR or 1ST are not allowed.
How Holders Spell Given-Name Syllables
The same list covers 100 syllables of given names. For many of them the spelling most holders use is not the one the rules give:
| Syllable | Letter by letter | On valid passports (share of holders) |
|---|---|---|
| 영 | YEONG | YOUNG 79.67%, YEONG 18.65%, YUNG 1.02% |
| 정 | JEONG | JUNG 47.97%, JEONG 47.09%, JOUNG 2.38%, JEUNG 0.54%, CHUNG 0.50% |
| 현 | HYEON | HYUN 67.96%, HYEON 30.03%, HYOUN 0.66%, HYON 0.50% |
| 희 | HUI | HEE 84.24%, HUI 12.34%, HI 1.60%, HEUI 1.06% |
| 수 | SU | SU 56.98%, SOO 42.83% |
| 준 | JUN | JUN 82.04%, JOON 15.27%, JUNE 2.33% |
| 성 | SEONG | SUNG 57.70%, SEONG 39.86%, SOUNG 1.03% |
| 경 | GYEONG | KYUNG 47.79%, KYOUNG 17.59%, GYEONG 15.63%, KYEONG 11.68%, KYONG 2.84%, GYUNG 1.70% |
| 철 | CHEOL | CHEOL 45.92%, CHUL 45.66%, CHOL 2.07% |
| 석 | SEOK | SEOK 67.32%, SUK 24.40%, SEOG 2.23%, SUCK 1.45% |
| 은 | EUN | EUN 99.22% |
| 민 | MIN | MIN 99.85% |
A spelling used by at least 50% or 10,000 holders cannot be changed on the ground that it does not match the pronunciation (notice 2024-10 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The Korean name romanizer shows these figures for every syllable of a name.
Changing the Spelling Later
A renewed passport keeps the spelling of the old one. The Enforcement Decree of the Passport Act (article 3-2) lists the reasons for a change, among them:
- the spelling clearly does not match the pronunciation of the Hangul name;
- a legal change of name;
- matching the surname of family members who travel or emigrate together, or adding a spouse's surname;
- a spelling with a clearly negative meaning; the ministry's examples include GANG, SIN, SUCK, ILL, BUM and GUN;
- once after turning 18, for a spelling chosen as a minor.
Because the first passport fixes the spelling for years, check family members' passports and the spelling you use abroad before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kim or Gim correct?
Both. The rules set no spelling for surnames; Gim is the letter-by-letter form, and KIM is on 99.55% of valid passports of people named 김.
Can I write the given name first?
The romanization rules put the surname first. Passports print the surname and the given names in separate fields, so the order is clear there; in an English text, Gildong Hong is also understood.
Why is 석우 written Seoku and not Seogu?
Passports romanize every syllable on its own: 석 is SEOK and 우 is U. Seok-u with a hyphen keeps the two syllables visibly apart.
Are ㅓ and ㅡ really written eo and eu?
Yes, by the official rules: 서 is Seo and 은 is Eun. Other spellings are in use too: 6.86% of holders named 서 have SUH on their passports.
Sources
Source: 국어의 로마자 표기법 (문화체육관광부 고시 제2024-27호) · Last checked:
Source: 여권법 시행규칙 제2조의2 · Last checked:
Source: 외교부 고시 제2024-10호 · 로마자표기 성명의 정정 등이 제한되는 예시 목록 (2024-10-31) · Last checked: