Why the change?

The old system was a poor match for the Information Age. The breve used to write ¡°¾î¡±as ¡° ¡± and ¡°À¸¡± as ¡° ¡± and the apostrophes with k', t', p', and ch' were difficult to replicate consistently on standard QWERT keyboards and HTML-generated text. In fact some readers may see only ¡°¡± in the sentence above because their programs cannot recognize letters using breve marks.

In addition, important phonetic differences were often neglected. For example, many writers simply left off apostrophes, making it impossible to tell if ¡°k¡± stood for ¡°¤¡¡± or ¡°¤»¡± or if ¡°t¡± for ¡°¤§¡± or ¡°¤¼,¡± etc. In the new system, such commonly confused Korean consonants are now clearly and consistently differentiated.

The breve was left off even more frequently than the apostrophe in the old system, so readers had no idea if ¡°o¡± stood for ¡°¾î¡± or ¡°¿À,¡± or if ¡°u¡± was ¡°À¸¡± or ¡°¿ì.¡± These vowels appear frequently in Korean; switching them can completely change the meaning of a word. Such confusing abbreviations through the careless use of the old system coupled with the difficulty of typing diacritical marks made revision unavoidable.

What has been changed?

The consonants "¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" have been changed from "k, t, p, ch" to "g, d, b, j," respectively, when used in the initial position:

- ±¤ÁÖ Kwangju >> Gwangju
- ´ë±¸ Taegu >> Daegu
- ºÎ»ê Pusan >> Busan
- Á¦ÁÖ Cheju >> Jeju

Similarly, "¤», ¤¼, ¤½, and ¤º" have been changed from "k', t', p', ch'" to "k, t, p, ch":

- Äá k'ong >> kong
- ÅÂ¾È T'aean >> Taean
- Æ÷Âù P'och'an >> Pochan

The breve-marked vowels " " and "" have become "eo" and "eu":

- ¼ºÁÖ S ngju >> Seongju
- ±Ý°î K mgok >> Geumgok

And "¤µ," formerly written as "sh" or "s" depending on the context, is now consistently "s."

- ½Å¶ó Shilla >> Silla
- ½Ç»ó»ç Shilsangsa >> Silsangsa

Other changes

As in the old system, words are not uniformly Romanized according to pure transliteration, but rather reflect Korean pronunciation. For example, the mountain ÇѶó [pronounced ÇÒ¶ó] is written as ¡°Halla,¡± not ¡°Hanla.¡± Similarly ¡¦

- ½Å¹®·Î[½Å¹®³ë] Sinmunno
- Á¾·Î[Á¾³ë] Jongno
- µ¶¸³¹®[µ¿´Ô¹®] Dongnimmun
- ±¹¹Î[±Ã¹Î] Gungmin
- ¹ý¹®[¹ü¹®] Beommun

At the end of a word or when followed by a consonant, "¤¡, ¤§, and ¤²" are written as "k, t, and p":

- °î¼º Gokseong
- ¹«±Ø Mugeuk

Frequently asked questions

• Reasons for revision

The old system is in wide use abroad; why change it now?


From a general linguistic point of view, the old system has various shortcomings. The difference between some voiced and non-voiced sounds in Korean are little more than allophones, but the old system transcribed these as entirely different phonemes. This problem should have been remedied long ago.

Because the old system did not reflect the Korean language¡¯s phonetic characteristics, native speakers of Korean had difficulty using it consistently. This difficulty contributed to various spellings for the same word. The old system¡¯s differentiation of voiced and non-voiced consonants, made it difficult for Koreans to understand and led to spellings like "Kumkang" and "Hankuk" for "±Ý°­" and "Çѱ¹" instead of the formerly prescribed "Kumgang" and "Han'guk."

There were contradictions as well. The city of Daegu (´ë±¸) was previously "Taegu," but its largest passenger-train terminal (µ¿´ë±¸, now written as ¡°Dongdaegu¡±) was Romanized as "Tongdaegu." Also, people rarely wrote "¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" as "t, p, and ch" -even when they were familiar with the old rules - because they wanted to avoid confusion with words that should have been spelled with "t', p', and ch'" but often had the apostrophe omitted. Consequently, while "¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" were written as "t, p, and ch" on road signs, they often appeared as "d, b, and j" on personal name cards and the signs for individual entities like companies, schools and temples.

This revision was undertaken to reduce the amount of confusion and inconsistency. Priority was given to actual pronunciation out of consideration of the needs of foreigners, so in this sense, the government's Romanization policy remains unchanged. The main change is that phonological differences are now more clearly spelled out.



• Lack of diacritical marks
  
  Why can¡¯t the old linguistic markings be used to show differences?
  
  
  The old Romanization system was based on the privately developed McCune-Reischauer system. Back in 1939, its use of the breve (v) was not a problem for professional printers of signs, maps and books. In the Computer Age, however, information is rapidly created and accessed from personal keyboards that are unable to easily reproduce the mark. While the old system¡¯s use of the apostrophe could be replicated, in actuality, these marks were omitted more often than not. Besides, existing ASCII code cannot employ k', t', p', or ch'. Rarely used properly anyway, it was logical that the apostrophe also be left out of the new system.
  
  
• Distinctions of consonants
  
  Why is clear differentiation between "¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" and "¤», ¤¼, ¤½, and ¤º" crucial in Romainization?
  
  
  Confusion would be rampant if such a distinction were not made. Proper names are particularly problematic: Take, for example, the case of two brothers, one named "´ë¼ö" (Daesu) and the other "żö" (Taesu).
  
  
• Distinctions of vowels
  
  Why is the difference between "¾î", and "¿À" and "À¸" and "¿ì" so important?
  
  The vowels "¾î" and "¿À" are completely different phonemes, as are "À¸" and "¿ì." The family names "¼±" and "¼Õ" both become "Son" in the absence of the difficult-to-type breve under the old system, just as "¼º" and "¼Û" both become "Song." Koreans with a breve-less keyboard had little choice but to improvise, so the family "¼º" - not wishing to write their name as "Song" which would be indistinguishable from "¼Û" - often felt the need to write it as "Sung" to make this distinction. Unfortunately, ¡°Sung¡± is actually ¡°¼þ¡± in both the old and new systems.
  
  
• Usage overseas
  
  Most foreign-based maps and encyclopedias use the McCune-Reischauer System for Korean place names, won't the change cause confusion?
  
  
  Confusion must be expected for some time. The old system is widely used overseas, particularly in Western countries. Many other documents besides maps and encyclopedias use the old system as well. It will take considerable time before the new system is recognized globally, but if we delay needed changes out of fear of this initial confusion, the problems of inconsistency will only worsen. The Korean government is prepared to patiently do its part to make the new system widely recognized and understood in Korea and around the world.
  
  
• The benefits of revision
  
  What's so good about the new system?
  
  The benefits will be great over the long run. Since the old system makes simple tasks such as Internet searches highly inefficient. Without a breve or apostrophe ´ë¼Û and żº, for example, both become ¡°Taesong.¡± A system that is easy to follow and type and always maintains critical and frequent phonetic differences - such as those between Daesong (´ë¼Û) and Taeseong (żº) - will make finding people, places, and everything else immensely easier because there will be little need for arbitrary improvising.
  
  
• Consonants
  
  Westerners tend to hear "¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" as "k, t, p, and ch." Why do these consonants have to be written "g, d, b, and j"?
  
  It is true "¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" can sound similar to "k, t, p, and ch" when foreigners hear these used as the first letter in a word. But the same is also true of "¤», ¤¼, ¤½, and ¤º." Still, the differences between these consonants are clear to native Koreans. Korean phonological opposition must be maintained, even if foreign ears cannot easily discern such differences. When "¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸" and "¤», ¤¼, ¤½, and ¤º" are consistently differentiated in Roman-based text, non-native pronunciation of Korean more closely approximates that of native speakers and becomes easier for the latter to distinguish.
  
  
• Vowels
  
  Do "eo" and "eu" accurately reflect the sound of "¾î" and "À¸"?
  
  Many have expressed opposition to transcribing "¾î" as "eo" and "À¸" as "eu." Some prefer to write "¾î" as "o" and "À¸" as "u," but then "¾î" would be indistinguishable from "¿À" and "À¸" from "¿ì," as those vowels have long been Romanized as ¡°o¡± and ¡°u,¡± respectively. With " " and " " no longer an option because of the lack of a breve on modern keyboards, Romanization of "¾î" and "À¸" required the use of two letters. Since Korean vowels have no variation in pronunciation, learning to simply replicate the proper sound whenever the assigned pair appears in Romanized words should pose no problem.
  
  While "¾î" is similar to the vowel sound in ¡°taught¡± and ¡°bought¡± and "À¸" similar to the ¡°u¡± and ¡°e¡± in ¡°put¡± and ¡°oven,¡± clearly neither has a single letter that can be used for transliteration. Linguistically on sound origin charts, both "¾î" and "À¸" lie between ¡°e¡± and "o," with the former more toward the front and the latter more toward the back. Consequently, an ¡°e¡± was placed before each after the breve was removed from their previous forms; "¾î" went from " " to ¡°eo¡± and "À¸" from " " to ¡°eu.¡±
  
  
• Family names
  
  Will family names be written according to the new system?
  
  In principle, personal names should follow the new system, but individuals are free to choose their own spellings. Adherence to the new system is particularly troublesome for the family name "ÀÌ," which should be written as "I." No one with this surname has registered such a spelling. Ninety-five percent of all persons with the family name "ÀÌ" Romanize the name as "Lee." Other less-common forms include "Rhee," "Yi," "Ri," "Li," "Rhie," and "Lie."
  
  
• Business names
  
  Shouldn¡¯t businesses and schools change the spelling of their names to match the new system?
  
  As with personal names, businesses may continue to use previously established Romanization. Samsung and Hyundai, both known the world over, could not be expected to change to "Samseong" and "Hyeondae." Startups, however, will be encouraged to follow the new system. Also, the government encourages companies using inconsistent Romanization to adopt the new system exclusively.

¨ç simple vowels

¤¿	¤Ã	¤Ç	¤Ì	¤Ñ	¤Ó
a	eo	o	u	eu	i

¨è diphthongs

¤Á	¤Å	¤Ë	¤Ð	¤Â	¤Æ	¤È	¤É	¤Í	¤Î	¤Ò
ya	yeo	yo	yu	yae	ye	wa	wae	wo	we	ui

Note: ¡°ÀÇ¡± is transcribed as ¡°ui¡± even when pronounced as ¡°ÀÌ.¡±

(2) Consonants are transcribed as follows:

¨ç plosives (stops)

¤¡	¤¢	¤»	¤§	¤¨	¤¼	¤²	¤³	¤½
g, k	kk	k	d,t	tt	t	b,p	pp	p

¨è affricates

¤¸	¤¹	¤º
j	jj	ch

¨é fricatives

¤µ	¤¶	¤¾
s	ss	h

¨ê nasals

¤¤	¤±	¤·
n	m	ng

¨ë liquids

¤©

r, l

Note 1 : The Korean letters ¡°¤¡, ¤§, and ¤²¡± are transcribed respectively as ¡°g, d, and b¡± when they appear before a vowel, but they become ¡°k, t, and p¡± when following another consonant or forming the final sound of a word. This change better reflects cases where pronunciation -- as indicated in the brackets [ ] beside the word -- differs from the standard transliteration. Similarly, ¡°¤¸¡± and ¡°¤º,¡± normally ¡°j¡± and ¡°ch¡± respectively, are also transcribed as ¡°t¡± when preceding a consonant or ending a word

e.g.	±¸¹Ì Gumi	¿µµ¿ Yeongdong	¹é¾Ï Baegam
	¿Áõ Okcheon	ÇÕ´ö Hapdeok	È£¹ý Hobeop
	¿ù°ù[¿ù°ð] Wolgot	º¢²É[¹ù„Œ] beotkkot
	Çѹç[ÇѹÞ] Hanbat

Note 2: : ¡°¤©¡± is transcribed as ¡°r¡± when followed by a vowel, and as ¡°l¡± when followed by a consonant or when appearing at the end of a word. The pairing ¡°¤©¤©¡± is transcribed as ¡°ll.¡±

e.g.	±¸¸® Guri	¼³¾Ç Seorak	Ä¥°î Chilgok
	ÀÓ½Ç Imsil	¿ï¸ª Ulleung	Åð°Ô·Î Toegyero

Important Variations

(1) When Korean sound values change as in the following cases, the results of those changes
are Romanized as follows:

¨ç The case of assimilation of adjacent consonants

e.g.	¹é¸¶[¹ð¸¶] Baengma	½Å¹®·Î[½Å¹®³ë] Sinmunno
	Á¾·Î[Á¾³ë] Jongno	¿Õ½Ê¸®[¿Õ½É´Ï] Wangsimni
	º°³»[º°·¡] Byeollae	½Å¶ó[½Ç¶ó] Silla

¨è The case of the epenthetic ¤¤ and ¤©

e.g.

Çп©¿ï[Ç׳à¿ï] Hangnyeoul

¾Ë¾à[¾Ë·«] allyak

¨é Cases of palatalization

e.g.	Çص¸ÀÌ haedoji	°°ÀÌ[°¡Ä¡] gachi
	¸ÂÈ÷´Ù[¸¶Ä¡´Ù] machida

¨ê Cases where ¤¡, ¤§, ¤², and ¤¸ are adjacent to ¤¾

e.g.	ÁÁ°í[Á¶ÄÚ] joko	³õ´Ù[³ëŸ] nota
	ÀâÇô[ÀÚÆì] japyeo	³ºÁö[³ªÄ¡] nachi

However, aspirated sounds are not reflected in case of nouns where ¤¾ follows¤¡, ¤§, and ¤², as in the examples below.

e.g.

¹¬È£ Mukho

ÁýÇöÀü Jiphyeonjeon

Note: Tense (or glottalized) sounds are not reflected in cases where morphemes are compounded, as in the examples below.

e.g.	¾Ð±¸Á¤ Apgujeong	³«µ¿°­ Nakdonggang
	Á׺¯ Jukbyeon	³«¼º´ë Nakseongdae
	ÇÕÁ¤ Hapjeong	ÆÈ´ç Paldang
	»ûº° saetbyeol	¿ï»ê Ulsan

(2) When there is the possibility of confusion in pronunciation, a hyphen '-' may be used.

e.g.	Áß¾Ó Jung-ang	¹Ý±¸´ë Ban-gudae
	¼¼¿î Se-un	ÇØ¿î´ë Hae-undae

(3) The first letter is capitalized in proper names.

e.g.

ºÎ»ê Busan

¼¼Á¾ Sejong

(4) Personal names are written with family name first, followed by a space and the given name. In principle, syllables in given names are not separated by hyphen, but the use of a hyphen between syllables is permitted.

e.g.	¹Î¿ëÇÏ Min Yongha (Min Yong-ha)
	¼Û³ª¸® Song Nari (Song Na-ri)

¨ç Assimilated sound changes between syllables in given names are not transcribed.

e.g.	ÇѺ¹³² Han Boknam (Han Bok-nam)
	È«ºû³ª Hong Bitna (Hong Bit-na)

¨è Romanization of family and given names are a matter of personal preference.

5) The administrative units ¡°µµ, ½Ã, ±º, ±¸, À¾, ¸é, ¸®, µ¿, and °¡¡± are transcribed, respectively, as ¡°do, si, gun, gu, eup, myeon, ri, dong, and ga¡± and are preceded by a hyphen. Assimilated sound changes before and after the hyphen are not reflected in the Romanization.

e.g.	ÃæûºÏµµ Chungcheongbuk-do	Á¦ÁÖµµ Jeju-do
	ÀÇÁ¤ºÎ½Ã Uijeongbu-si	¾çÁÖ±º Yangju-gun
	µµºÀ±¸ Dobong-gu	½ÅâÀ¾ Sinchang-eup
	»ïÁ׸é Samjuk-myeon	Àοո® Inwang-ri
	´ç»êµ¿ Dangsan-dong	ºÀõ1µ¿ Bongcheon 1(il)-dong
	Á¾·Î 2°¡ Jongno 2 (i)-ga	Åð°è·Î 3°¡ Toegyero 3 (sam)-ga

Note: Terms for administrative units such as ½Ã, ±º, À¾ may be omitted.

e.g.	ûÁֽà Cheongju
	ÇÔÆò±º Hampyeong
	¼øâÀ¾ Sunchang

6) Names of geographic features, cultural properties, and man-made structures may be written without hyphens.

e.g.	³²»ê Namsan	¼Ó¸®»ê Songnisan
	±Ý°­ Geumgang	µ¶µµ Dokdo
	°æº¹±Ã Gyeongbokgung	¹«·®¼öÀü Muryangsujeon
	¿¬È­±³ Yeonhwagyo	±Ø¶ôÀü Geungnakjeon
	¾È¾ÐÁö Anapji	³²Çѻ꼺 Namhansanseong
	È­¶û´ë Hwarangdae	ºÒ±¹»ç Bulguksa
	ÇöÃæ»ç Hyeonchungsa	µ¶¸³¹® Dongnimmun
	¿ÀÁ×Çå Ojukheon	Ã˼®·ç Chokseongnu
	Á¾¹¦ Jongmyo	´Ùº¸Å¾ Dabotap

(7) Proper names- those belonging to individuals or companies - may continue to be written according to personal preferences, but the new system should be adopted whenever possible.

New Romanization System (Simplified Table)

¤¿

¤Ã

¤Ç

¤Ì

¤Ñ

¤Ó

¤À

¤Ä

¤Ê

¤Ï

¤Á

¤Å

¤Ë

¤Ð

¤Â

¤Æ

¤È

¤É

¤Í

¤Î

¤Ò

a

eo

o

u

eu

i

ae

e

oe

wi

ya

yeo

yo

yu

yae

ye

wa

wae

wo

we

ui

initial final

¤·

¤¡

¤¤

¤§

¤©

¤±

¤²

¤µ

¤¸

¤º

¤»

¤¼

¤½

¤¾

g

n

d

r

m

b

s

j

ch

k

t

p

h

¤¡

k

g

kg

ngn

kd

ngn

ngm

kb

ks

kj

kch

kk

kt

kp

kh(k)

¤¤

n

n

ng

nn

nd

II(nn)

nm

nb

ns

nj

nch

nk

nt

np

nh

¤©

l

r

lg

ll

ld

ll

lm

lb

ls

lj

lch

lk

lt

lp

lh

¤±

m

m

mg

mn

md

mn

mm

mb

ms

mj

mch

mk

mt

mp

mh

¤²

p

b

pg

mn

pd

mn

mm

pb

ps

pj

pch

pk

pt

pp

ph(p)

¤·

ng

ng

ngg

ngn

ngd

ngn

ngm

ngb

ngs

ngj

ngch

ngk

ngt

ngp

ngh