Romanization of Korean (North Korea)
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Rules of the Latin Alphabetical Transcriptions of the Korean Language[1] is the official Korean-language romanization system in North Korea. Announced by the Academy of Social Sciences (Sahoe Kwahagwŏn), it is an adaptation of the older McCune–Reischauer system,[2] which it replaced in 1992.[3][4] It was updated in 2002[4][5] and 2012.[1]
Transcription rules
[edit]| Hangul | ㅏ | ㅑ | ㅓ | ㅕ | ㅗ | ㅛ | ㅜ | ㅠ | ㅡ | ㅣ | ㅐ | ㅒ | ㅔ | ㅖ | ㅚ | ㅟ | ㅢ | ㅘ | ㅝ | ㅙ | ㅞ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanization | a | ya | ŏ | yŏ | o | yo | u | yu | ŭ | i | ae | yae | e | ye | oi[a] | wi | ŭi | wa | wŏ | wae | we |
| Hangul | ㄱ | ㄴ | ㄷ | ㄹ | ㅁ | ㅂ | ㅅ | ㅈ | ㅊ | ㅋ | ㅌ | ㅍ | ㅎ | ㄲ | ㄸ | ㅃ | ㅆ | ㅉ | ㅇ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanization | Initial | k | n | t | r | m | p | s | j | ch | kh | th | ph | h | kk | tt | pp | ss | jj | — |
| Final | l | t | t | t | k | t | p | t | k | — | — | t | — | ng |
- In double consonants in the end of a word or before a consonant, only one of them is written:[1]: 5
- 닭섬 → Taksŏm
- 물곬 → Mulkol
- However, in the case before a vowel, both consonants are written:[1]: 5
- 붉은 바위 → Pulgŭnbawi
- 앉은 바위 → Anjŭnbawi
- The soft voiceless consonants between vowels ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ and those between resonant sounds and vowels are transcribed as g, d, and b.[1]: 4
- Final consonants may undergo assimilation before resonants.[1]: 5–6
- 백마산 → Paengmasan
- 꽃마을 → KKonmaŭl
- 압록강 → Amrokgang
- When lax consonants become tense in compound words, they are transcribed as tense consonants if they are preceded by a vowel. Also, if the next element begins with a resonant, then n is added before it.[1]: 6
- 기대산 → Kittaesan
- 새별읍 → Saeppyŏl-ŭp
- 뒤문 → Twinmun
- The consonant clusters ㄴㄹ and ㄴㄴ are only transcribed as ll if they correspond with longstanding usage; ㄹㄹ does not have a special transcription.[1]: 6, 8
- 천리마 → Chŏllima
- 한나산 → Hallasan
- 찔레골 → JJilregol
- Double consonants may be capitalized as a single unit: kk → KK.[1]: 5–6
Guide
[edit]A personal name is written by family name first, followed by a space and the given name with the first letter capitalized. Also, each letter of a name of Chinese character origin is written separately. The given name's first initial is transcribed in a voiceless letter, even when it becomes resonant in pronunciation.[1]: 7–8
- 김꽃분이 → Kim KKotpuni
- 박동구 → Pak Tong Gu
- 안복철 → An Pok Chŏl
However, it is not really possible to follow this rule because a certain name written in hangul can be a native Korean name, or a Sino-Korean name, or even both. For example, 보람 (Po Ram / Poram) can not only be a native Korean name,[7] but can also be a Sino-Korean name (e.g. 寶濫).[8] In some cases, parents intend a dual meaning: both the meaning from a native Korean word and the meaning from hanja. ALA-LC, which has a similar rule about given names (see McCune–Reischauer § ALA-LC variant), admitted that it is not really possible to determine whether a certain given name is Sino-Korean or not.[9]
A name for administrative units is hyphenated from the placename proper:[1]: 7
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However, a name for geographic features and artificial structures is not hyphenated:[1]: 7
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Sound changes are not transcribed in the suffixes above:[1]: 4–5
- 삿갓봉 → Satkatbong
- 압록강 → Amrokgang
Transcription of geographical names may be simplified by removing breves and by reducing initial double consonants to single consonants:[1]: 8
- 서포 → Sŏpho → Sopho
- 찔레골 → JJilregol → Jilregol
Notes
[edit]- ↑ The 1992 version used oe instead;[3] Rodong Sinmun still uses oe as of 2022.[6]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "E/CONF.101/CRP15 - The Rules of Latin Alphabetic Transcription of Korean Language" (PDF). UNGEGN. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ↑ The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff (2024). The Chicago Manual of Style (18th ed.). University of Chicago Press. 11.95. ISBN 9780226817972.
- 1 2 "Working Paper No. 46" (PDF). UNGEGN. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
- 1 2 "Updates to the report on the current status of United Nations romanization systems for geographical names" (PDF). UNGEGN. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea there is a national system adopted in 1992 and presented to the 17th session of UNGEGN in 1994, updated version was published in 200220.
- ↑ "E/CONF.94/INF.72 - Guideline for the Romanization of Korean" (PDF). UNGEGN. 2002-08-26. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ↑ "Choe Ryong Hae Inspects Different Units of South Phyongan Province". Rodong Sinmun. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ↑ 김보람(金보람). 한국법조인대관 [List of Legal Professionals in Korea] (in Korean). 법률신문 (The Law Times). Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ↑ 강보람(姜寶濫). 한국법조인대관 [List of Legal Professionals in Korea] (in Korean). 법률신문 (The Law Times). Retrieved 2023-08-15.
- ↑ Lee, Hyoungbae (2015-01-29). "Introducing Korean Name Romanizer". Korean Studies mailing list. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
It makes an effort to distinguish Sino-Korean names from names of native or western origin based on pronunciation. When ambiguity arises, a string is considered Sino-Korean and might need to be modified manually. [...] 김새미 => Kim Sae-mi (ambiguous)
