How Korean names are written in English
South Korea's official system is the Revised Romanization of Korean, adopted in 2000. For personal names it says: write the family name first, leave a space, and write the given name as one word. A hyphen between the syllables of the given name is allowed. So 홍길동 becomes Hong Gildong or Hong Gil-dong.
Names are romanized letter by letter. Korean pronunciation changes some sounds where syllables meet, but those changes are not written in names. That is why this tool converts each syllable on its own.
| Hangul | Romanized | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ (start of a syllable) | g, d, b, j | 동 Dong, 지 Ji |
| ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ (end of a syllable) | k, t, p | 복 Bok |
| ㄹ | r before a vowel, l at the end, ll when doubled | 리 Ri, 길 Gil |
| ㅓ ㅡ ㅢ | eo, eu, ui | 서 Seo, 은 Eun |
| ㅐ ㅚ ㅟ | ae, oe, wi | 재 Jae |
Source: Romanization of Korean, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism notice, chapter 3 section 4 (personal names)
Why Kim, Lee and Park?
Family names kept the spellings that were in use long before 2000. Under the official rules 김 is Gim, 이 is I and 박 is Bak, but almost everyone writes Kim, Lee and Park. The romanization rules themselves leave family names to be settled separately. The "common spellings" line shows these established forms, with the official form last.
Given names also have popular alternatives: 준 is often Joon rather than Jun, 영 is Young rather than Yeong, and 수 is Soo rather than Su. These are easier for English speakers to read, but they are not the official form.
Korean names and Western order
In Korea the family name always comes first. In English contexts many Koreans put their given name first, as in "Jisoo Kim". Both are correct; what matters is using one form consistently on forms, tickets and accounts. Airline tickets must match the passport, which lists the family name and given names in separate fields.
FAQ
Should I write Seona or Seon-a?
Both are valid. Without the hyphen, 선아 (Seon-a) could be read as 서나 (Seo-na), so a hyphen helps when the syllable break is unclear. The tool shows a note when that happens.
Can I convert a name typed in English back into Hangul?
Not reliably. One English spelling can match several Korean names, so this tool only works from Hangul to English.
Is the name I type sent anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser.
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