Auslandische Vornamen in Korea

Abstract

The system for names in Korea is very traditional; so foreign first names are out of place. They are used more often for girls than for boys, which means that the naming for boys is more conventional than for girls. Among the foreign names, English names, at least the names with an English pronunciation, such as Paul or Mary, are often used. In many cases it is difficult to identify the origin of the names, such as Erisi. The writing and pronunciation of foreign names show the signs of assimilation to those of Korean names. Most of them consist of two syllables (Mina, Jo-han) and their exotic pronunciation and writing are adapted to Korean. Some of them are adjusted so much that they cannot be recognized as foreign names (Mi-na, Ju-ri). Religious motive is the most important reason for the alternatrion of both girls' (An-na) and boys' (Ba-ul) names. The Christians want to give their children Biblical names to honor missionary work. The connection to foreign names in Korea was first done, in my opinion, by Christian Korean servants or babysitters who didnt have their own names. An example of this is that Ma-ru-ta (from Martha) was the babysitter of King Kojong. The lower class" of people of that time was fascinated by the teachings of Christianity which taught them about the equality of men and women, as well as between upper" and lower" class people. We can suggest and expect that the number of foreign names will increase because of more communication and contact between countries, which allows foreign names to become more acceptable through frequent usage.