Korean Job Discussion Forums

[fidel]

Hi
My wife who is Korean is expecting a child in early October.
We have been informed that the babies name can only contain a certain number of syllables. The number mentioned to her by the local government office was five for the first name (exclusive of the family name).
Is this true? To the people who have had children to a korean wife, can you confirm or deny this. Also since our family register has my wife as the head of the family is our child required to take her family name?

[Corporal]

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but why would your baby need a name with more than five syllables?

[kimcheeking]

if it is syllables by Korean counting that is important. My family name is smith and in Korean it has 3 syllables ���̽�. My childs surname is Smith and she has a Korean and an English name, don't worry about it.

[katydid]

I'm still not sure about this, but intrigued. I have always thought all Korean names were at the most three syllables long. Does this mean if I have a daughter here, I could not name her Elizabeth-Kristina? Not that I really would do that. It'd be a pain to yell out her full name whenever she got in trouble, and I'm too lazy for that.

[JackSarang]

Korean family names are all 1 syllable. Kim, Park, Lee etc.

First names in Korean are either 1, 2 or 3 syllables with 2 being the most common and 3 being the rarest.

If you're going to give your child both a Korean name and a western name, there really is no reason to enter the western name on the books, just use the korean name.

Also, your child will be required to take her mother's family name, at least officially as far as the korean government is concerned.

However, depending what country you're from, your child will likely be eligible for dual citizenship and you can apply for a birth certificate/passport in your home country and you can give her a western name on that and use your family name or a hypenated one.

[katydid]

So that singer, Park Hwa-yobi, that isn't a nickname or anything...I have had some students whose "first names" were just "Jin" or "Hyun" but have yet to see any three syllable-named person yet.
Learn something new every day!

[posco's trumpet]

[dogbert]

Just a nitpick, but not all Korean surnames have only one syllable.

[Scott in HK]

The thing about the having to taking the mother's name under the registry is not correct. At least for our family...our girls have my last name under my wife in her registry. Also the only thing about the syllables that is limited is the number that a computer will register. Our first daughter's name in her korean passport in English is Hannah Patricia which would be six syllables and then it is printed again in hangul where it comes out as Hannah Pat.

[BTM]

I had a student last semester with a 5-syllable name : Han A Rum So Ri.

So it would appear that 4-syllable given names are not verboten.