Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cedar]

I've been in Korea a long time, and one of my number one pet peeves is Western people who cannot -or should I say WILL NOT- use the Korean names of the Korean people around them.

Look, Korean names can be tough the first few weeks, but with any degree of effort and moderate exposure, I just can't see how people can use "nicknames" all the time (except if your hagwon mandates it, of course).

Do Japanese people say "My name is Toshi, you can call me Michael"? No! Do Italian people say "Marco is too hard for you to say, just call me Mark." No!

What's your take?

[desultude]

I do have a hard time remembering Korean names- but I do with western names also.

I appreciate what you are saying. Difficult or not, I do not call my students by western names. I really respect names- they are intensely personal and critical to one's identity. I struggle with them, and have learned to pronounce my students names well, but I still have a hard time remembering them.

I think it is a sort of tradition that got started here- to get a western name in the hogwon, and maintain it for we stupid way gooks, but we should stop it and use their own names with respect.

[Cedar]

Exactly! It's a respect issue! And OF COURSE it was hard at first, I had NO prior exposure to Asian languages at all, many of the sounds in Korean, etc. But, man, when someone screws up my name, it really ticks me off. This is ME. My identity. I should accord that respect to others as well. And the thing was, it got a lot easier once I was familiar with the sounds in Korean.

[crazylemongirl]

I have 1200 students I don't remember all their names. Fourtantly they have them written on their jackets!! But I refuse to use western names even thought many of the english teachers told me that they have them.

At hogwon we had to use english names though.

Oddly enough my principal asked what my korean name was since I've been in korea for awhile. Granted my given name is a little hard for korean speakers but I said that due to my family name is really easy for my students to say (or scream out the windows/or hogwon buses) I didn't see the need.

[Koreabound2004]

I cannot for the life of me remember most of my students names, and I do feel horrible about it.

Last semester. I did not give them English names, and I cannot read their nametags which are in Korean. And at the end of the semester, I only remembered one girl's name Park In Mi...but it's b/c it made sense to me. However, I did feel very bad about it. Back home, I was great with remembering names...I don't know why this is happening here.

This semester I am working with a new coteacher, and he has given them English names...so I feel that if he approves of it, I will go ahead and try it out in my own classes.

I had them choose English names, and made them name tags...which have both their chosen English name, and their original Korean name in English so that I can read it.

I wouldn't do it if I thought anyone was going to be offended by it. The students seemed to be eager to choose names for my class....

When I took Spanish classes back home, we chose Spanish names...and it seemed to help me get in the mood to learn Spanish, like I was in character....I didn't feel as if I had lost my identity or anything...

[tzechuk]

Well I don't know...

I've been here for 4 years and a few months but I have a hard time remember Korean names.. mostly it's because I am still not totally familiar with the language and sounds are quite meaningless if said quickly.

I was born in Hong Kong and when I was born, my parents gave me a western name to go in my birth certificate. Were they wrong? I don't know. I mean I have 2 names, one in Chinese, one in English... I mostly go with the English one...

Almost everyone in Hong Kong has a western name of their own choosing, they see nothing wrong with having one at all ....

[canadian_in_korea]

I remember some names...but there are some that I can't remember for the life of me. Even if I do remember there is a very good chance I'm not going to say it right...and they just keep having to correct me. If their name is written in korean characters I can pronounce it much better.....but to remember..I just can't. My name isn't very common in Canada....there are two ways of saying it...I answer to either one...I just got tired of correcting people....I just figure..I know you are talking to me...

[Emu Bitter]

I've never worked anywhere in my 5 years in Korea where the students didn't have nicknames/English names. So can't really answer the question, but on the subject of their names, it worries me a little that teachers could take the p&*^ out of the kids if the teacher chooses their names. If a bitter long termer like me for example was in a grumpy mood I might name a kid Cletus or something.
At my first job, I taught a kid who's 'English' name was Zelgathis. Anyone know the origins of this or did one of the former teachers at the school play a joke on him.

[redd]

I've always had a hard time with people changing their names to make it easier for others. My hagwon requests that all children be given english names unless the parent specifially requests otherwise. That really bothered me when I first got here but I've got to admit it is a bit easier - except now I have to figure out which Tony and Jenny is which. I've had to start giving the names and I try to make it "close" to the Korean name if possible - even if it's just the initial sound. I also try to give them about 5 to choose from. When I get a new student, they definitely have to repeat it several times and even then I can't always hear the sounds properly. I've been in Korea slightly less than four months, but it still embarrasses me.

My Korean coworkers only found out each others Korean names shortly after I arrived and asked (but I don't remember them) and they'd been working together for almost a year.

[animalbirdfish]

I have a real problem with kids getting English nicknames slapped on them, as if their actual Korean name is somehow not good enough for the field of study. Hate to sound overly-PC, but it makes me somewhat uncomfortable, like taking away a small part of their identity. One's name in no way affects his/her ability to study a language.

[JacktheCat]

I have a real problem remembering people's names; be they western, Chinese, Korean, whatever. That's just part of my dyslexia. I have to make a concious effort to remember names, even after over 2 years here and having gotten a pretty good handle on the language.

I call my students by their Korean names in general conversation and save the English names for specific lessons and "in the west" dialogues.

Though with 900 hundred students in my new high school job, it's going to be awhile before I can remember quite a few of their names.

I am using a great idea I pulled out of a book of making up index cards with their names (Korean), nicknames, photos, and general info; and then putting them all on a ring according to class. It's helping a lot in learning the students names.

[Ekuboko]

I disagree with making students have English names.
A Korean I taught in my home country told me that when he was at a hagwon his teacher made him choose one. He didn't want an English name at all, but he chose TOM because he was wearing a Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirt at the time. He told me he wanted to keep his own name, because that was his identity. (Plus, he didn't even 'look' like a TOM!)

I find that students don't respond when I've called them by their English name, so that's another reason why I prefer to call them by their real name. I've just changed schools and have had all my students (all 680 2nd graders) make triangle namecards and write their names in Hangeul and English. I don't expect to remember all their names, but at least they will respond when I call out to them in or out of the classroom.

I've also found that Koreans seem to think (like Chinese too) that they can chop and change their English name whenever they feel like it. Their definition of a 'nickname' seems to be different from ours, in that we are given our nicknames by others, whereas they choose their own names, which they call a 'nickname'.

During my winter workshops I had a male teacher tell me that my nickname wasn't suitable and how about I change it to something cuter and feminine?? I was quite offended. Another teacher who I had called 'Judy' from day 1 at school decided to 'change' her name to something 'sexier' in the middle of one of our workshops - and she became 'Claire'.

When I worked in Japan, I never met a Japanese person that told me to call them by an English name, so it's a little weird for me to have Koreans here with English names, especially as thr names they choose seem quite old-fashioned or just stupid.

I also taught Korean adults in my home country (mostly around uni age) at an English school and the majority of them never volunteered an English name for themselves. Some of the guys just used their surnames. To begin with, it was hard pronouncing and remembering, but I'm glad they stuck with their real names.
Yep, Korean names all the way.

[kermo]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

I never got worked up about it. In Italian class I was Giussepe Ventura. In Russian class I was Boris Kutuzov. It was all just part of the fun. Of course I was in University at the time.

When I worked a hogwon I never met a kid who didn't want (or have his mother insist on) an English name.

Still, if it's such a big deal for the students it's probably a good idea to just drop it and move on.

In the middle school winter camp class I sometimes content myself with formal titles. "Ahem. Mr. S___. I hope you brought enough for everybody."

[crazylemongirl]