Traditionally speaking, Korean names are usually given with Chinese characters. In ancient times, children from aristocratic families had to be named according to their birth date, and they went to the "Four Books and Five Classics" to find suitable Chinese characters. To this day, you can often see "Philosophy Hall" signs on the streets of South Korea. However, these places do not study philosophy, but analyze birth dates and give people some suggestions on naming.
Of course, South Korea also has a more professional "name institute" that is responsible for naming. If you take a closer look at the names of Koreans, some of them are very cultural. For example, the name of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo was given by his grandfather, and its meaning comes from the idiom "The great wisdom is like a fool". There are also names like "Yin Shan", and you can see the traces of Buddhist culture in them. At the same time, names such as "Zhongguo", "Shuzi" and "Zhenji" have a Confucian flavor, while names such as "Qixing" and "Chengyi" contain Taoist ideas.
In modern times, the way Koreans name names has changed a lot, but they still pay attention to auspicious and loud names. Boys often use Jie, Chang, Ji, etc. to express happiness and auspiciousness, and Hao, Zhe, Quan, etc. to express power. Women are often named after Shu, Hui, Shun, Ying, etc. In addition, young people increasingly use native words and foreign names. For example, film and television star Jang Nara, her name is an inherent word, which means "country" in Korean. Another example is the famous Korean fashion designer Andre Kim, who simply has a foreign name.
Korean surnames are mainly divided into two parts. Some surnames originate from China, such as Lu, Min, etc. The ancestors of former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo immigrated to South Korea from Shandong, and Roh Tae-woo once went to Shandong specifically to find his roots. The other part is native, such as Jin, Pu, etc. The ancient Korean book "Relics of the Three Kingdoms" mentions how Park, one of the five major surnames, came from: "Men lay eggs, and the eggs are like ladles. The villagers regarded the ladle as Park, so the surname Park came." Therefore, the surname Park is unique to the Korean nation. of. In addition, the surname Jin is also native to the Korean nation. During the Silla era, there was a Silla prince Jin Qiaojue who went to China's Jiuhua Mountain to practice and finally achieved enlightenment.
Before the Goryeo Dynasty, only nobles in North Korea had surnames, while common people only had first names but no surnames. During the reign of King Guangjong, the fourth generation of Goryeo, the imperial examination system was introduced. Those who participated in the imperial examination must have a surname and a given name. As a result, not only the nobles but also the common people gradually began to have surnames.
At that time, people had a variety of names: some were named after the time and place of birth, such as Qixi Festival and Jiachen, those born on the roadside were called Xingji, those born on the edge of the fields were called Tiannu, and those born in the kitchen were called Tiannv. His name is Ji Sun and others. There are also names named after the characteristics at birth. Those who are strong and strong are called Yi Chi and Yi Zhi, and those who are born with moles are called Dian Shun and Dian Bu.
Generally speaking, the upper class at that time basically named their names with Chinese characters, while the common people were more likely to use Chinese characters to name their names.
Koreans have always been very proud of their name culture, and recently it has become more popular to give Korean names to foreign celebrities. Wentworth Miller, the male protagonist in the American TV series "Prison Break", has a large number of "fans" in South Korea. However, if you say the name Miller in Korea, no one may pay attention to you, but if you blurt out the name "Seok Haobi", it will trigger screams. Yes, "Shi Haobi" is the Korean name given to Miller by Korean netizens.