What do Korean Last Names Mean?

Dear Korean,

What do Korean last names mean? I mean, I know most of them come from dynasties—but what does Kim mean? Pak? Cho? And others? I can't believe they exist sui generis!

The Mexican

The Mexican strikes again!

Here in AAK!, the most important policy is that the Korean will do whatever the hell he wants with this blog. The second most important policy is this: whenever Gustavo Arellano, i.e. the Mexican, i.e. the owner of ¡Ask a Mexican! and the inspiration for this blog, sends a question to this blog, that questions gets answered as soon as possible, no matter how long the line is and no matter what the question is. That is right, the Korean has answered numerous questions about Korean names before, but what does it matter? When the granddaddy of all "Ask" blogs asks your blog a question, you answer. That's it.

So what do Korean last names mean? Let's put it this way: Korean language has a Chinese backbone, as just like English has a Latin backbone. In other words, while there are plenty of Korean words that have a stand-alone meaning in Korean, a lot of Korean words have a meaning that one must refer back to Chinese to understand -- that is, those words are Sino-Korean. Sino-Korean words tend to appear in clusters in a given word group. For example, Korean law tends to be heavily laden with Sino-Korean, just like American lawyers speak of a sui generis action that should be so obvious that it is res ipsa loquitur, for example.

Name is another area in which Sino-Korean tends to dominate. Although pure Korean names are gaining popularity in the last several decades, the overwhelming majority of Korean names are Sino-Korean. In fact, this type of questions hits the Korean's inbox fairly frequently:  I have a Korean name; what does my name mean? (In most cases, the questioners are adoptees who are attempting retrace their roots.) And usually, the Korean's answer is:  unless you know the what Chinese characters were used for your name, the Korean can't really say what your name means.

Korean last names are 100% Sino-Korean. That is, all Korean last names have an underlying Chinese character. So the meaning of Korean last names are basically the meaning of the Chinese characters underlying those last names.

Having said that, here are the ten most common Korean last names, the underlying Chinese characters, and what they mean:

• 김 [金] [Kim] - Gold.
• 이 [李] [Lee] - Plum tree.
• 박 [朴] [Park/Pak] - Magnolia tree.
• 최 [崔] [Choi] - Pinnacle.
• 정* [鄭] [Chung/Jung/Jeong] - "Zheng" (name of a Chinese kingdom.)
• 정* [丁] [Chung/Jung/Jeong] - Large nail (as in hammer and nail.)
• 정* [程] [Chung/Jung/Jeong] - To count
• 강 [姜] [Kang] - Ginger.
• 조* [曺] [Cho] - Group, companion.
• 조* [趙] [Cho] - "Zhao" (name of a Chinese kingdom.)
• 윤 [尹] [Yoon] - To rule.
• 한* [韓] [Han] - Korea.
• 한* [漢] [Han] - "Han" (name of a Chinese kingdom.)
• 임* [任] [Im] - To be in charge.
• 임* [林] [Im/Lim] - Forest

*Chung, Cho, Han and Im/Lim are interesting oddballs -- each of those last names actually has two or more different Chinese characters, which are pronounced the same way in Korean.

So there you have it, Mexican. Catch you next time.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

More on China's Forced Repatriation of North Korean Defectors

Here are some more tidbits on the North Korean defectors front.

- Graduates of Yeomyung School, a South Korean charter school for North Korean defector children, created the most successful online petition to date. At www.savemyfriend.org, a petition to the officials of the United Nations, European Union and the United States has garnered more than 127,000 signatures so far. Please take your time to sign the petition, and share them on your Facebook and Twitter. It will only take a minute.

Cha In-Pyo (center) protesting in front of the Chinese embassy.
(source)

- Backed by the Save My Friend movement, superstar actor Cha In-Pyo and other celebrities organized two protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Seoul, on the 18th and on the 21st. National Assemblywoman Park Seon-Yeong has been holding a hunger strike in front of the Chinese embassy since the 21st as well; she plans to continue until China announces that it will treat North Korean defectors as refugees. There are also candle light vigils being held in various cities of Korea.

- The Chinese government is stonewalling. There are reports that nine of the 28 North Korean defectors were already repatriated, although other reports say they are still in China. The Chinese government has refused to verify the whereabouts of those defectors. In a regular briefing held on the 24th, Chinese government official only repeated that China has been handling the issue "in accordance with domestic law, international law and humanitarian principles." When asked which humanitarian principles were followed when China previously repatriated North Korean defectors, the spokesman only repeated that China has been keeping with the principles.

- Korean government is considering what may end up being an extremely helpful measure: issuing temporary South Korean travel certificate to any North Korean defector in China. With the travel certificate, even if the defector is arrested by Chinese police, s/he can credibly claim that s/he is a South Korean citizen. Even if the claim is less than completely credible, it may provide enough cover for the Chinese police to receive bribes and let the defector go. (Apparently, right now the going price is 100,000 yuan per person -- approximately $16,000.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Which Direction is Korean Written?

Dear Korean,

Is Korean written left to right or top to bottom?

Kathy R.

It can be both. Like other East Asian scripts like Chinese or Japanese, Korean script may be written horizontally or vertically. But in today's Korea, overwhelming majority of Korean is written horizontally, to be read from left to right.

An article from Chosun Ilbo, dated July 9, 1970 about bus companies.
The headline is written horizontally, while the body is written vertically.
(source)

Several decades ago, Korea's newspapers generally employed vertical writing. But that practice was abandoned for the most part by early 1990s. In contemporary Korea, vertical writing in Korean can only be found in old books and newspapers, some scattered old-school literary journals, and decorative materials.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

What is Korean's Onomatopoeia for English Speaking?

Dear Korean,

I have a Korean workmate who has a desk next to me at work. I was asking him about Korean onomatopoeiae, then I asked him: "When you were a kid were there any nonsense words that you used to pretend to speak English? He said no at first but then I pressed him a little. The he said: "Well, we do, but I'm too embarrassed to say them in front of you." So my question is: What are the nonsense words that Koreans say when they are pretending to speak English?

A. Marris

It's either "swalla swalla" (as if saying "swallow" with the last syllable changed,) or "shalla shalla". This onomatopoeia is not limited to mimicking English sound -- it is used to describe nearly all foreign languages.

A straightforward answer for a straightforward question. If only every question that hits the Korean's inbox were like this.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Scattered Thoughts on Jeremy Lin

Unfortunately, the Korean has been handling the most amount of responsibility he has ever handled as an attorney in the last two weeks, right as the whole Jeremy Lin saga has been unfolding. There are several draft posts about Lin that sit in the blog's box, but the Korean figured it was better to air out some of the half-formed thoughts for now rather than trying to write something two months after the fact.

- Lin in the NBA Store.  Last week the Korean was in New York, and stayed at a hotel that was across the street from the NBA Store. The first thing you would see as you stepped into the NBA store would be two rows of Jeremy Lin jerseys ($250 each!), and two salespersons holding up $50 Jeremy Lin warm-up shirts because they ran out of shelf space. And those things were flying off the rack. Unbelievable.

- Other Lin-related New York adventures.  At a restaurant in New York, the bartender asked if the Korean received a lot of love because of Lin. Sure, why not -- we are both over 6 feet and around 200 pounds. In the following dinner, a white New Yorker friend adamantly insisted that Lin was a better passing point guard than everyone in the NBA except Steve Nash -- in other words, better than Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo and Ricky Rubio. The Korean had to tell his friend that he was nuts, and the Korean did not appreciate the fact that his friend made him a race traitor.

- Jeremy Lin on the Lakers?  When Lin graduated from Harvard and was lighting up John Wall in the NBA summer leagues, the Korean wished that Lin would sign with the Korean's favorite team, the Lakers. Looking back, Lin is very fortunate that he did not sign with the Lakers. The New York system under Mike D'Antoni is perfect for him.

(More after the jump.)

Got a question or comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

AAK! PSA: Stop China's Repatriation of North Koreans

First, a little bit of background. As Kim Jong-Un attempts to consolidate his power in North Korea, one of the new regime's focus has been arresting as many North Koreans in China as possible. Right now, North Korea has sent into China a task force of covert agents numbering in the thousands -- a scale simply unprecedented -- who would pretend to be North Korean defectors, only to rat out true defectors to the Chinese police. The Chinese police arrests these defectors and repatriate them back to North Korea. Once back in North Korea, these defectors will face near certain deaths in gulags out of hard labor and starvation. Recently, there was an arrest of 28 North Korean defectors in China, who will be repatriated back to North Korea in just a few days. Right now, even as we speak, these defectors are essentially facing a death penalty if they are sent back to North Korea. Some of the defectors' families in South Korea (who defected before this group of defectors) are pleading that if these defectors are to be sent back to North Korea, they are better off killing themselves in the Chinese prison.

Mr. Joo Seong-Ha, whom regular readers of this blog would know well, decided to do something about this situation. Below is his plea regarding this issue, translated into English. Mr. Joo is hoping that the social services networks worldwide would be plastered with this message, so that the Chinese government would hopefully think twice before condemning North Korean defectors to certain death.

The Korean knows that a lot of AAK! readers came to this blog because of the peerless insight of Mr. Joo. If you learned anything new about North Korea thanks to one of his posts, you owe him -- and now is your chance to return the favor. It will not take much to put up this message on Facebook, Twitter, LinkdIn, or any other social network to which you belong. Please, please carry this message forward. You may end up saving lives. Thank you.

*                  *                  *

Our appeal to the Chinese government and the international community for help. Please stop the repatriation of North Korean defectors! Forced repatriation is ultimately a death sentence.


Please help save the lives of North Korean defectors who are about to be repatriated by The Public Security Bureau of China. The defectors including minors are crying out for help, saying they’d rather die in China than be repatriated. Please help us stop the inhumane repatriation by the Chinese government. Compulsory repatriation will only result in cruel torture, persecution, and public execution. We ask the Chinese government and the global community to help in our effort to protect the human rights and save the lives of the innocent.

From February 8th to the 13th, 28 North Korean defectors were arrested by the Public Security Bureau agents in three cities near the Chinese border. The first group had 10 people (4 men and 6 women) arrested in Shenyang, the second group consisted of 9 people arrested in Yian-ji, and the third group had 12 people arrested in Changchun. Reportedly, the 10 people detained in Shenyang contacted with their family in South Korea by the phone.

The refugees escaped from North Korea for many different reasons. They had to suffer extended period of financial crisis, wide-spread starvation, electric power shortage, ‘guilt-by-association’ political system, absence of freedom of speech, travel or relocation, and violence against women and children. Some refugees escaped from the prison camps, while others left their country to meet with their families who had settled in South Korea. Most of the refugees want to come to South Korea but a few of them want to start a new life in other countries like the United States, the U.K. and Canada.

The arrested defectors will go through 7 to 10 days of investigation before their repatriation. Therefore, the 10 people arrested in Shenyang are now facing immediate deportation. For a decade, the Chinese Bureau of Public Security has postponed the repatriation until the international community diverts their attention to other issues, and has so far repatriated over 10,000 refugees. The Chinese government is now evading negotiation on this matter with ambiguous answers, saying they cannot confirm the arrest of 28 North Koreans.

Recently, the North Korean government ordered a harsher crackdown on escapees during the 100 days of mourning period for Kim Jong-Il. After repatriation, the defectors will be sent to political prisoner camps and their chances of public execution are imminent. In the prison camp, their human rights of will be cruelly abused as they are subject to forced labor, involuntary abortion, physical violence, sexual assault, public execution, torture, medical experiment and lack of hygienic care. Even though North Korea joined the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and inserted additional ‘respects and protections of human rights’ article into the constitution, it has never followed or adhered to any of the rules.

Most of the refugees want to come to South Korea, and many of them have families already residing in South Korea. For instance, one of the refugees under arrest is a teenager boy who does not have any family or relatives in North Korea but has a brother and a sister in South Korea. In this case, he is a full citizen of South Korea and the South Korean government has the right to ask the Chinese government to send him to South Korea.

Kim Jong-un and his government must admit the sovereign default and the abuse of human rights of its citizens. As a leader, Kim should help promote the well-being of his citizens rather than promote the death of his people.

North Korean defectors left their country due to poverty, autocracy, and many other political reasons. So, their escape from North Korea and their desire to settle in South Korea prove that they qualify for the status of refugee or asylum seeker prescribed by the international law. The Chinese government agreed to the UN’s Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the UN Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK stipulates ‘the principle of non-refoulement’ that the North Korean defectors seeking asylum should not be put back to dangerous situation. Therefore, the Chinese government must stop the forced repatriation and allow the refugees to continue their lives in other countries.

In an effort to show their opposition to North Korea, the families of the arrested refugees are abstaining from food and drinks, and appealing to the Chinese government while also trying to reach out to the international community. In one extreme case, a father of an arrested female refugee stated that he would rather have his own daughter killed by poison than taken back to North Korea. Her repatriation will only lead to indefinite torture eventually ending with public execution. 

We urge the Chinese government to protect the basic human rights and the lives of all human beings. Also, we encourage the Chinese government to understand and realize the importance of freedom and democracy for all people. Repatriation will cause long and painful suffering to the family members of the refugees. Tens of thousands of people in North and South are already feeling guilty as they failed to save their family. Please help us stop this pain and injustice. 

We appeal to all the people of conscience around the world, including worldwide news media, governments, leaders, and organizations. Please raise public awareness of the North Korean refugee crisis and the devastating effect of the Chinese government’s unjust repatriation. Please help save the lives of North Korean defectors. Show your love for humanity!

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Dog Meat, and Cultural Conquistadors

The Korean has already touched upon dog meat in Korea in a previous post, which is one of the most frequently read posts on this blog. But because the post attempted to cover both the facts about Korea's dog meat consumption, the Korean's own opinion, and additional questions regarding that topic, it has become a bit unwieldy.

Recently, the BusanHaps magazine ran a couple of stories about dog meat. The second story was written by Ms. Frankie Herrington, who wishes to abolish dog meat from Korea. The Korean figured that this would be a good chance to present a cleaner and more focused argument about why dog meat consumption in Korea must not be banned, and about how dog meat abolitionists -- both Korean and non-Korean -- are making things worse by standing in the way of reasonable regulations. Haps was gracious enough to allow me to submit the story, which is reproduced below. (Warning:  it's long.)

Just a couple of points to make before we get into the op-ed. The story has been up on the Haps magazine for about three days now, and the discussion in the comments section has been, ahem, lively. In the Korean's opinion, the two takeaways from the discussion on the board so far are:

1. CARE, one of Korea's leading animal rights organizations that opposes regulating the dog meat industry, essentially confirmed the Korean's point in its comment:

"The reality is: passing the Animal Protection Law does very little in terms of enforcement and punishment of cruelty to animals. This is a sad reality. We can prove this by pointing to the fact that dogs are still hanged for food and crammed into cages during transportation, despite clear language in the APL saying it is forbidden. So, why support the APL? Because doing so sends a message of opposition to people who abuse animals. We want to deter people from acting cruelly to animals, even if the law has no real biting power.

Regulating the dog meat industry would also do very little in terms of changing the industry to more humane standards. If the government were to make dog meat "legal" and "regulated," it would be sending a message of compliance; i.e. it is OK to eat regulated dog meat "because the dogs are riased [sic] and killed humanely.""

As discussed in the op-ed, the Korean's point was that animal rights groups, including CARE, are not actually in the business of improving animals' lives; rather, they are in the business of culture war. By this comment, CARE frankly states that it approaches legislation as a means to send messages, rather than as a means to actually improve the lives of meat dogs.

2.  It is self-evident from the exchanges in the comment section which side of the debate is more serious and level-headed, and which side is hyper-emotional and irrational. Except for a few high notes struck by CARE (which the Korean does appreciate) and one or two other commenters, the behavior of the anti-dog meat crowd has been a display on everything bad about discourse on the Internet.

Having said that, the full op-ed is available after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Outer Edges of Korea's Racism, and the Tourist Rule

Dear Korean,

I would like to visit Seoul and spend a little bit of time being a tourist over there. One of my good friends from high school wanted to possibly come along if we can work out a time period to do so. However, some of what I have read about Korea's situation with ESL teachers and tourists in general has me somewhat unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to bring him along.

My question to you is to what extent would bringing him along not be a good idea? There are certain specific cases I have seen written on the Internet suggesting that South Koreans are, generally speaking, somewhat less tolerant of darker skinned people, at least when they work as English teachers. There is also a popular news video I watched about a white tourist from Canada and a South Asian tourist from Indonesia (I believe) having vastly different experiences asking passerbys in Seoul for directions. Seeing how we would both just be there as tourists, and I fully intend on not acting like the generic "dumb tourist" with the map in my hand looking all confused, do you think I might have an issue buying tickets for an exhibit, being served at a restaurant, etc... if I bring along my dark-skinned friend?

Landon G.

First, the video that Landon mentioned is very much worth a look.

Beyond this video, there is no shortage of materials on the Internet discussing racism in Korea, including this blog. Allow the Korean to be quite clear about this: racism in Korea is real. If you are of a different race in Korea, you will be treated differently. That is a fact. But at the same time, the lack of experience that people have with Korea tends to distort the perspective of just how bad racism in Korea is. Like Landon, a lot of people have a problem putting Korea's racism on a scale. This results in a lot of unnecessary worries.

This is not an easy subject for the Korean to write, because he knows firsthand that the racial majority will never have the full understanding of the racial minority. The Korean is a minority in the U.S., and a majority in Korea. The difference of his experience in the two countries -- especially when it comes to how he is perceived, talked about, and treated by other people -- is an uncrossable ocean. If he was not the same person, the Korean in Korea would never understand the Korean in America.

This, in turn, means that the Korean is not fully cognizant of the entire experience that non-Koreans undergo in Korea. Not only does he not know, but also he cannot know, except for occasional glimpses gleaned from what he reads and reflected back into his own experience. This makes it a perilous venture for the Korean to describe the scale of racism in Korea. A lot of non-Asian-Americans are surprised to find out that "Where are you really from?" is quite annoying for Asian Americans. Similarly, as a member of the majority race in Korea, the Korean cannot describe the every last details on the contours of Korea's racism.

What the Korean can do, with reasonable certainty, is this: set the outer edges of Korea's racism. He cannot describe every corner of the realm that is racism in Korea, but he can at least tell you where that realm ends. That alone should have some value. Again, the Korean would emphasize that Korea's racism is real. But it is ludicrous for anyone to worry about, say, getting pelted by stones on the streets of Seoul just because one has the wrong skin color.

(More after the jump)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.