- The Revised Romanization of Korean
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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.
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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
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.
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The Romanization of Korean
Basic Principles of Romanization
(1) Romanization is based on standard Korean pronunciation.
(2) Symbols other than Roman letters are avoided to the greatest extent
possible. Standard Guidelines
1) Vowels are transcribed as follows:
¨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
¨é fricatives
¨ê nasals
¨ë liquids
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 |
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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 |
ȶû´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 |
* "Final" refers to the final position in a Korean
syllable.
"Initial" refers to the first position in a Korean syllable.
As demonstrated in the table above, the phonetic value of some final and
initial letters change in a limited number of pairings.
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Examples Comparison of Common Korean
Words as Romanized in the Two Systems
|
old |
new |
|
old |
new |
ºÎ»ê |
Pusan |
Busan |
´ë±¸ |
Taegu |
Daegu |
±¤ÁÖ |
Kwangju |
Gwangju |
´ëÀü |
Taejn
|
Daejeon |
ÀÎõ |
Inch'on |
Incheon |
ÀüÁÖ |
Chonju |
Jeonju |
Á¦ÁÖ |
Cheju |
Jeju |
ûÁÖ |
Ch'ngju
|
Cheongju |
°æÁÖ |
Kyngju |
Gyeongju |
±èÆ÷ |
Kimp'o |
Gimpo |
°í±¸·Á |
Kogury |
Goguryeo |
µ¿´ë±¸ |
Tongdaegu |
Dongdaegu |
ºÎ°î |
Pugok |
Bugok |
Á¤À¾ |
Chngp
|
Jeongeup |
¿ï»ê |
Ulsan |
Ulsan |
¹¬È£ |
Muk'o |
Mukho |
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