There is an old saying in Korea, ‘A tiger dies and leaves his coat. A man dies and leaves his name.’ As we can see from this, our ancestors respected their names and lived their whole lives striving to achieve its meaning. For them, name was sacred and they cherished not only their own name but also another’s. Now, looking back on yourself today. How many times did people call your name? In reverse, how many names did you call?
Why They Had Ten Names
What do you think a name is? Name was not just a ‘word’ made up to refer to you. In the past, Korea followed oriental tradition of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements theory.* To people back then, name was a bridge that connected individuals and the world, and it was believed to affect one’s life tremendously. Hence, Koreans have respected names for a long time. To make a really good name, people visited a naming center and Chul-hak Gwan.** Each Korean name had unique meaning that contained hope and love of one’s family. Since people considered it sacred, they thought it was rude to call the actual name. So they remembered each other’s names, but never called them. Instead, they had second names which were childhood names, Ja and Ho. One’s childhood name was made up lowly so that evil spirits don’t pay attention to them. Childhood names were such as pig, dog, dung and so on. After a person became an adult, they were called by Ja (which a revered adult presented) or Ho (which people close to the person usually called). Of course, these names also were made up cautiously. Kings of Joseon Dynasty had up to about 10 names. A director of the Smiling Name Association said, “Koreans traditionally believed that humans live in the effect of their names. Therefore, when predicting one’s fortune, name was the first thing to consider since it moves a person’s destiny.”1
Names contained someone’s desires and wishes. Yet, these days, name is heading towards a different way compared to the past. Before, naming was done after thorough consideration. But today, people name because it’s prettier or easier to say, without much thought into it. Celebrity’s names are made up so randomly, too. For instance, a singer SE7EN’s name was decided because there were seven cubed radish Kimchi left in the dish when producers were thinking about his stage name.
Our ancestors cherished the meaning of their own and other’s names. Yet, lots of university students in our society are different. In a survey of 2116 students from 23 Universities in Korea, 60.2% of the students were able to write their names in Chinese characters. 24.7% were able to write their own and parent’s names in Chinese.2 Because the meaning of Korean names is formed by Chinese characters, the possibility that the college students may not know the meaning of their names increases when they can’t write in Chinese. Also, people don’t care much about the meaning of their names on the Internet, either. A nickname is what represents individuals on websites, but people tend to make meaningless names such as ‘ㅋㅋㅋ.’
What made people’s attitude toward names transform? In the past, court was strict about laws regarding changing one’s name. However, after 2005, a court decided that if it’s not for an illegal purpose, people should be free to change their names. The circumstance that people can change their names any time easily, reduced people’s burden of naming, and it also decreased the value of the name. In 2004, name change requests recorded 50,000, but it increased after 2005 and 170,000 were recorded in 2009. The ratio of name change permission by Domestic Relartions Court also increased staying around 90% after 2006.3
Moreover, after inflow of western culture and thought, Koreans were no longer bounded to Yin-Yang and the Five Elements theory. Western naming features practicality competes with our philosophical and sophisticated naming processes. For example, if there were two people named John, people would name carpenter John as ‘John Carpenter’ and John living by the river as ‘John River’ to distinguish them. Getting used to Western names and culture, Koreans began to find practical names, prettier and easier to say. As a result, the importance of names decreased. Yoo Hyeunju, Division of Business Administration ’12 said, “People’s views about names have changed a lot. Today, many prefer practical names. I’ve seen friends changing their names easily to what is practical to them, not thinking much about the meanings in their original name.”
Current State of Name, Getting Dimmer
Likewise, the importance name had decreased in our society. As people’s attitude changes, name is disappearing from individual’s lives day by day. Think of a person’s life living in the current era. In the school days, friends and parents called the name. But then, after entering University, the frequency of name being called declines radically. Kim Yeonji, Division of Economics ’12 said, “In university, there are many situations where one will be alone in the lecture. Also, because professors and students part after just one semester, they don’t feel any need to call each other’s names. Only a few close friends will remember the name.”
As you get older, your name will get dimmer. In the work place, people call each by one’s title as president, deputy, and so on. In addition, by aging, people gain lots of titles by family relationships. Lee (42), a full time homemaker, said, “Since I had a child, people began not calling my name. I am called by mom, mother of 000, honey, aunt, and so on. Not all of them remember my name. Today, my name is not called even once.” The reason for our name disappearing as we get older is because the Korean Society focuses mainly on one’s status. Before, name was prior to status. Now, the positions have changed and people call titles rather than names.
In modern society, name is losing importance. Yet, your name still has someone’s hope and wish for you. Unfortunately, your name being called in the true sense of the meaning can become the last in University. Today, try calling others’ names with your full heart. And now, remind yourself of your actual name, respect and listen to it. Can you hear it? What is Your Name?
* Yin means negative, Yang means positive and the five elements refer to metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Koreans traditionally thought each day and time had these characters and named a person due to their born date.
** Chul-hak Gwan is where people can know about their destiny and make names by Yin-Yang and the Five Elements theory.
1 Yeo Rachun, “The Secret of All Going Well,” Economic Review, October 17, 2011
2 Park Heejune, “Bad Spelling Mistake due to Lock of Chinese Characters,” Segye Daily, June 30, 2011
3 Kim Nanggi, “Changing Names,” Chosun Daily, July 3, 2012
