Pat's reference about spelling out "Dong Gook" in a soccer player's jersey and my recent travails in trying to get social security benefits for my mom got me thinking about Korean names. Mainly, Koreans - it's mostly an issue only for those who deal with Westerners - are too inconsistent about their names! And we wonder why Westerners mess up Asian names. Koreans typically have two syllables (or words? Or characters?) as their given (or first) name, such Dong Gook. So his name in Korean is Lee Dong Gook. In the U.S., it would be Dong Gook Lee.
Of course, it doesn't help that Koreans still consistently introduce themselves to Westerners by leading with their surname. (Hi, I'm Lee Dong Gook, leading others to wonder if Lee is the first or last name. And what then is Gook? A middle name?) Recently, I found out that Social Security administrators have misplaced some key documents that my mom needs because they can't figure out whch is her first, middle or last name.
Here's my proposal: I say Koreans stick to one first name by combining the two characters into one name. Sunhee or Chanho or Donggook (Actually, Donggook is a terrible example. Maybe he should use a dash. Dong-gook. Better yet, he should get himself a Western name - James or something.) And always introduce your first name first - "Hi, I'm Chanho Park."
- Roger in DC
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I completely agree. Not only too inconsistent with name order but also spelling (not only for names but any Korean word). Despite trying to create a uniform system, in practice who knows what the correct romanization of a Korean word is? Everyone spells things phoenetically and in a different way.
Also, many Koreans try to romanize their Korean names in a different way to be unique. That can be quite frustrating too.
The result is, for names, many non-Asians are forced to guess whether Lee Seung Chul; Yi Sung Chul; Rhee Soong Chul are the same person. It can be a frustrating problem.
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