You may notice quite a few homeless people around Seoul Station. A lot of visitors ask me, “Why are there so many homeless people here?” One of the biggest reasons goes back to 1997, during the Asian Financial Crisis. In Korea, we usually call it the IMF Crisis . A lot of companies went bankrupt, unemployment rose very quickly, and many people suddenly lost their jobs and income. Some people eventually lost their homes as well. And many of them came to Seoul Station . Why here? Because this was one of the main places to find day labor and temporary jobs , and it was also the main railway station if they wanted to go back to their hometowns. But some had no money left and nowhere else to go, so they stayed around the station. That is one reason Seoul Station became one of the main gathering places for homeless people after the 1997 crisis. Then another thing happened. Once many homeless people were here, churches, charities, NGOs, and the government started providing help here. Th...
The story of the family and first name in Korea
A Korean name usually consists of three characters. The first name is the family name and the latter two characters make the given name. Unlike Western people write their first name in front, the family name is written first in Korea, followed by the first name.
Why do Korean surnames come first?
Korea is a culture that values the family name. That is why we write our surname first when we write our own name, as opposed to Westerners.
Koreans often say when making an oath to others, 'If I lie, I change my last name. So, Korean family names are not diverse. Korea is one of the fewest surnames in the world.
Where do Korean surnames come from?
The country with the most surnames in the world is the United States. There are about 1 million surnames. Finland has about 60,000 kinds and Britain has about 15,000 kinds, compared to Korea's 300 kinds of surnames, the least. As such, it is a fact that Korea has lived in a thorough Confucian culture that values blood ties and families.
Smith is the largest surname in the English-speaking world, with about 3 million people in the United States and Britain alone. Westerners' names are centered around names derived from occupations. Smith is a blacksmith, and Taylor is a tailor, and Müller is a mill worker. As a result, Westerners live with their father's name on their lips every day.
In Korea, you can never call the name of your father or your ancestors and we are reluctant to call the names of our fathers or ancestors. So, in the old days, saints made and used another name, such as a pen name or nickname.
In Korea, which used to be a Confucian country, there are many names containing the letters of In, Ui, Ye, Ji, Shin which means benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity. It is a mirror of Confucian culture.
How do Koreans make a name?
When Korean people give their names, they try to choose characters with good meaning. Recently, there are many parents who freely give thier kid's names, but Koreans still believe that the name, birthday, and birth time affect their children's lives, so they ask an adult or senior in the family to make a name that has a good meaning that can have a good influence in their life.
What is the most common family name in Korea?
The most common surname for Koreans is Kim, 21%,
followed by Lee, 14%.
After that, there are in the order of Park, Choi, Jeong, and Kang.
Korean women do not use their husband's surname after marriage. The last name remains the same. However, when marrying Japan and Europe, the husband's surname is followed. However, these days, there is a controversy that following the father's last name is discriminatory against women, so some children use the father's mother's last name together.