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...