Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chungbukdo]

For anyone who has gotten married to a Korean in Korean and has a non-Korean last name, how did you structure name changes (or lack of)? Both in Korea and abroad?

I figured she would want to keep her name in Korea, so I thought I (a male) could actually take her name in Korea and she could take mine abroad. Anyone do that? However it seems she doesn't want my last name at all really. But I'm wondering how this would be seen back home.

[GEOM]

You dont have to adopt her family name. Koreans dont traditionally adopt last names from their spouse.

If they were Park and married a Kim, they stay a Park.

[littlelisa]

If she doesn't want to change names, easy decision, no? Just don't change names. Unless you want to take hers, which is fine, and I guess your decision.

It's common in many places (not only in Asia) to not change names when you marry. I have many friends in Canada and in the US who haven't changed names, especially if they each have a career where their name is on business cards, etc. And who cares how it's seen back home?

[chungbukdo]

I was thinking of it more like being a trade.

However I don't even like my own last name.

[faeriehazel]

I know plenty of couples back in the US where the wife did not change her name after marriage. It's becoming pretty common nowadays, although depending on the area some people might think it's a bit odd. I have heard stories of some couples running into occasional paperwork problems if the mom has a different last name from the kids.

It's too much of a pain to change names in Korea, and like others have said, it's not customary for Koreans to change their names after marriage anyway. I told my husband (he's from the UK and I'm Korean) that if I ever obtained UK citizenship I would change my name at the same time (apparently it's not uncommon for immigrants to change their names once they get UK citizenship, regardless of whether or not they're married to a citizen).

[byrddogs]