Names of Korea
Like neighboring
China and
Japan, the English name
Korea is not used by Koreans themselves; rather, it derives from the title of one of Korea's numerous historical dynastic kingdoms, thereby making it an
exonym. There are three
names of Korea (referring to
North Korea and
South Korea together) in use today. In the
Korean language, Korea as a whole is referred to as
Hanguk () by South Koreans and
Chosŏn () by North Korea. The English name
Korea is used by both countries in international context. This article explains the history and modern usage of these names. See also
Korean romanization.
See also: History of KoreaThe earliest records of Korean history are written in Chinese characters, despite the languages being unrelated. Even after the invention of
hangul, Koreans generally recorded native Korean names with
hanja, by
translation of meaning,
transliteration of sound, or even combinations of the two. Furthermore, the pronunciations of the same character are somewhat different in Chinese and Korean, and have changed over time.
For all these reasons, in addition to the sparse and sometimes contradictory written records, it is often difficult to determine the original meanings or pronunciations of ancient names.
Ancient history
Jyusin
Until about 2000 years ago, northern Korea and southern
Manchuria were controlled by
Gojoseon. In Chinese records, it was written as 朝鮮, which is pronounced in modern Korean as
Joseon (조선).
Go (古), meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later
Joseon Dynasty.
The Chinese characters phonetically transcribed a native Korean name, thought to have been then pronounced something like "Jyusin". Some speculate that it also corresponds to Chinese references to 肅愼 (숙신, suksin), 稷愼 (직신, jiksin) and 息愼 (식신, siksin), although these latter names probably describe the ancestors of the
Jurchen.
Other scholars believe 朝鮮 was a
translation of the native Korean
Asadal (아사달), the capital of Gojoseon:
asa meaning morning, and
tar meaning land or mountain. The character 朝 can mean both "morning" (read as
zhāo in Chinese) or "dynasty" (read as
cháo in Chinese), while 鮮 may translate to "fresh" or "savory," often used to describe rarity.
Han
Around the time of Gojoseon's fall, various chiefdoms in southern Korea grouped into confederacies, collectively called the
Samhan (삼한, "Three
Han").
Han is a native Korean root for "leader" or "great," as in
maripgan ("king," archaic),
harabeoji (originally
hanabeoji, "grandfather"), and possibly
hana ("one") and
haneul ("sky"). It may be related to the
Mongol/
Turkic title
Khan.
Han was transliterated in Chinese records as " (한, han), 幹 (간, gan), 刊 (간, gan), 干 (간, gan), or 漢 (한, han), but is unrelated to the Chinese people and states also called
Han.
Guri
Around the beginning of the
Common Era, remnants of the fallen Gojoseon were re-united and expanded by the kingdom of
Goguryeo. It, too, was a native Korean word, probably pronounced something like "Guri", transcribed with various Chinese characters: 高句麗/高勾麗/高'麗 (고구려, Goguryeo), 高麗 (고려, Goryeo), 高離 (고리, Gori), or 句麗 (구려, Guryeo). In 高'麗, the character 高 ("high") is an adjective , rather than a part of the transliteration. The character 麗 is sometimes pronounced
ri.
The source native Korean name is thought to be either
Guru (구루, walled city) or
Gauri (가우리, center).
The theory that Goguryeo referenced the founder's surname has been largely discredited (the royal surname changed from
Hae to
Go long after the state's founding).
Revival of the names
In the south, the Samhan resolved into the kingdoms of
Baekje and
Silla, constituting, with Goguryeo, the
Three Kingdoms of Korea. In 668, Silla unified the three kingdoms, and reigned as
Unified Silla until 935.
The succeeding dynasty called itself
Goryeo (고려, 高麗), in reference to Goguryeo. Through the
Silk Road trade routes,
Muslim merchants brought knowledge about Silla and Goryeo to
India and the
Middle East. Goryeo was transliterated into
Italian as "Cauli," the name
Marco Polo used when mentioning the country in his
Travels, derived from the
Mandarin Chinese form
Gāolì. From "Cauli" came the
English names "Corea" and the now standard "Korea" (see
Western names below).
In 1392, a new dynasty established by a military coup revived the name
Joseon (조선, 朝鮮) (the official state name becoming Daejoseonguk - 대조선국, 大朝鮮國). The Chinese characters were often translated into English as "morning calm," and Korea's English nickname became "The Land of the Morning Calm"; however, this interpretation is not often used in the Korean language, and is more familiar to Koreans as a back-translation from English.
In 1897, the nation was renamed to
Daehan Jeguk (대한제국, 大"帝國, literally, "Great Han Empire", known in English as
Korean Empire), in reference to the
Samhan (삼한, 三", literally, "Three
Hans").
20th century
When Korea came under
Japanese rule in 1910, the name reverted to
Joseon (officially, the Japanese pronunciation
Chōsen). During this period, many different groups outside of Korea fought for independence, the most notable organization being the
Daehan Minguk Imsi Jeongbu (대한민국 임시정부, 大"民國臨時"府) literally the "Provisional Government of the Great Han People's Nation", known in English as the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea).
Korea became independent with the Japanese surrender to the
Allies in
World War II (
1945). The country was then
divided into the
Soviet-occupied north and
American-occupied south.
In
1948, the South adopted the provisional government's name of
Daehan Minguk (대한민국, 大"民國) literally the "Great Han People's Nation", known in English as the
Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, the North became the
Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk (조선 민주주의 인민공"국, 朝鮮民主主義人民共'國) literally the "Joseon Democratic People's Republic", known in English as the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Today, South Koreans use
Hanguk to refer to Korea as a whole,
Namhan (남한, 南"; "South Han") for South Korea, and
Bukhan (북한, 北"; "North Han") for North Korea. North Koreans use
Chosŏn,
Namjosŏn (남조선, 南朝鮮; "South Chosŏn"), and
Bukchosŏn (북조선, 北朝鮮; "North Chosŏn") respectively. As relations with North Korea resumed, it became standard in South Korea to call North Korea
Yibuk (이북, 以北; "The North") to avoid the term Bukhan.
The
Korean language is called
Hangugeo (한국어, "國語) or
Hangungmal (한국말) in the South and
Chosŏnŏ (조선어) or
Chosŏnmal (조선말) in the North. The language script is called
Hangul (한글) in South Korea and
Chosŏn'gŭl (조선글) in North Korea. The
Korean Peninsula is called
Hanbando (한반도, "半島) in the South and
Chosŏn Pando (조선반도) in the North. Official maps in both countries often do not show the
DMZ that divides the two countries, as both nations' constitutions stipulate that the entire
Korean Peninsula is legally theirs and thus do not recognize the other government as a political entity.
East Asian names
Until recently, the
People's Republic of China tended to use the historic Korean name
Cháoxiǎn (朝鲜 "Chosŏn"), by referring to South Korea as
Nán Cháoxiǎn (南朝鲜 "South Chosŏn") when it did not recognize or have diplomatic relationship with the Republic of Korea. After establishing diplomatic relationship with the Republic of Korea 1992, newspapers in the People's Republic of China today use the names that each of the two sides prefer, by referring to North Korea as
Cháoxiǎn (朝鲜 "Chosŏn") and to South Korea as
Hánguó (韩国 "Hanguk"). The Korean language can be referred to as either
Cháoxiǎny" (朝鲜语) or
Hánguóy" (韩国语), although many people argue that the former is more correct, as China itself has a sizeable minority of ethnic Koreans (朝鲜族
Cháoxiǎnzú) who use the historic name.
The
Republic of China administering
Taiwan, on the other hand, uses the South Korean name, referring to North Korean as
Běihán (北" "North Han[guk]") and South Korean as
Nánhán (南" "South Han[guk]"). As the Republic of China had considered that the Republic of Korea should be the only legitimate regime of the whole Korean Peninsula while refusing to recognize the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Hánguó ("國) had been used to refer to the whole Korea. In addition to the illusion of China as a united nation while refusing to recognize the People's Republic of China, officially published textbooks in Taiwan had also illustrated that Korea should be a united nation as well. Even though the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China now considers North and South Koreas two separate countries, the people in Taiwan still refer to North Korean as
Běihán (北" "North Han[guk]") and South Korean as
Nánhán (南" "South Han[guk]") while use of
Cháoxiǎn (朝鮮,
Tongyong Pinyin: Cháosiǎn) is generally limited to ancient Korea. The Korean language is usually referred to as
Hánguóy" ("國語) or
Hány" ("語).
Similarly, people in
Hong Kong and
Macau call North Korea
Bak Hon (北" "North Han[guk]") and South Korea as
Nam Hon (南" "South Han[guk]"). However, as both Hong Kong and Macau are now Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, there is now a tendency to use the same terms as in Mainland China.
In Chinese language used in
Singapore, North Korea is usually called
Cháoxiǎn (朝鲜 "Chosŏn") with
Běi Cháoxiǎn (北朝鲜 "North Chosŏn") and
Běihán (北韩 "North Han[guk]") less often used, while South Korea is usually called
Hánguó (韩国 "Hanguk") with
Nánhán (南韩 "South Han[guk]") and
Nán Cháoxiǎn (南朝鲜 "South Chosŏn") less often used.
In Chinese language used in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula is usually called
Cháoxiǎn Bàndǎo (;
Tongyong Pinyin: Cháosiǎn Bàndǎo) , but it is also less often called
Hán Bàndǎo ().
In Vietnam, people call North Korea
Triều Tiên ("Chosŏn") and South Korea
Hàn Quốc ("Hanguk"). Prior to unification,
North Vietnam used
Bắc Triều Tiên (Bukchosŏn) and
Nam Triều Tiên (Namjosŏn) while
South Vietnam used
Bắc Hàn (Bukhan) and
Nam Hàn (Namhan) for North and South Korea, respectively. After unification, the northern Vietnamese terminology persisted until the 1990s. When South Korea reestablished diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1993, it requested that Vietnam use the name that it uses for itself, and
Hàn Quốc gradually replaced
Nam Triều Tiên in usage.
In
Japan, the names preferred by each of the two sides is used, so that North Korea is called
Kita-Chōsen (北朝鮮; "North Chosŏn") and South Korea
Kankoku ("国 "Hanguk"). The
Korean language is most frequently referred in Japan to as
Kankokugo ("国語) or "Chōsengo"(朝鮮語). It is also referred to as "Kankoku-Chōsengo"("国朝鮮語). However, when
NHK broadcasts a language instruction program for Korean, the language is referred to as
Hangurugo (ハングル語) meaning language of the
Hangul writing system. This term is not used in ordinary Japanese, but was selected as a compromise to placate both nations in a euphemistic process called
kotobagari.
International Names
Both South and North Korea use the name "Korea" (or equivalent) when referring to their countries in English or other western languages.
Because of the coexistence of "Corea" and "Korea" in the 19th century English publications, [
1] some Koreans believe Japan, around the time of the
Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the spelling on "Korea," so that "Japan" would appear first alphabetically. Both governments used both "Korea" and "Corea" until the early part of the Japanese occupation.[
2] [
3] "English books and maps published through the 19th century generally spelled the country's name as Corea, as did the British government in laying the cornerstone of its embassy in Seoul in 1890 with the name "Corea." But sometime in the early 20th century, "Korea" began to be seen more frequently than "Corea" - a change that coincided with Japan's consolidation of its grip over the peninsula." Most evidence is circumstantial, including a 1912 memoir by a Japanese colonial official that complained of the Koreans' tendency "to maintain they are an independent country by insisting on using a C to write their country's name." [
4] At the time, however, Korea would not appear independently of Japan on such a list. Furthermore, at the time in question, Japan wished to be called "Nippon" ("N" coming after both "C" and "K").
Historic Names
In some cases the displaced citizens of former Korean nations maintain their cultural identity in foreign lands. Hence, these people usually do not associate themselves with either the North or South Korean governments. An example of this is the former
Korean Empire citizens living in Hawai'i to this day, some of whom still conserve their now-useless Korean Empire passports for their historic value.
Subjects of former Goryeo who moved to
Russian and
Central Asia call themselves
Goryeoin (고려인; 高麗人), or
Kareisky in
Russian. It is estimated that approximately 1,145 Goryeoin are living in the
CIS, including 10,6852 in
Russia, 22,000 in
Uzbekistan, 20,000 in
Kyrgyzstan, 1,7460 in
Kazakhstan, 8,669 in the
Ukraine, 2,000 in
Belarus, 350 in
Moldova, 250 in
Georgia, 100 in
Azerbaijan, and 30 in
Armenia.
In Japan, those who moved to Japan before and after the annexation of the Korean Peninsula usually maintain their distinctive cultural heritages (such as the Baekjae-towns or Goguryeo-villages). Those who live in Japan with Korean nationality are now called
Zainichi Chosenjin/Kankokujin, (在日朝鮮人/"国人; ざいにちちょうせ"じ"/か""くじ") by the Japanese, a term that is also used for people of Korean ancestry living in Japan who do not profess a preference for either North or South Korea.
*
Commonwealth of Independent States Report, 1996*
History of Korea*
Names of China*
Names of Japan*
Evidence debunking Korea/Corea modification hypothesis
