Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Korean)
This consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
This page (WP:NCKO) provides guidance on how to render the names of Korea-related concepts in the Latin script. See also Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Korea-related articles (MOS:KO). Both WP:NCKO and MOS:KO are applied together for topics that are significantly related to Korea on Wikipedia.
For some explanations of some of the romanization decisions made on this page, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Korea/Romanization of Korean on Wikipedia.
Naming guidelines
Assume that these principles apply to all Korea-related terms.
Strict romanization vs. naming conventions
Do not mistake the guidelines in WP:NCKO for strict applications of romanization; some of our guidelines differ from official romanization standards.
When strictly romanized text is needed, namely within templates like {{Infobox Korean name}} and {{Korean}}, do not apply the rules of WP:NCKO. Instead, strictly apply the rules of the respective romanization systems.
For example, the spelling "Lee Ha-na" should be used everywhere (e.g. article title, in body of any article, in infobox titles) except for when templates like {{Infobox Korean name}} or {{Korean}} ask for RR or MR. Then you should provide "I Hana" ("I" instead of "Lee" or "Yi"; no hyphen).
Use consistent spellings for terms
Per
Translating non-people names to English
Per
When there aren't enough sources to constitute an established English name, as a last resort you may translate the names to English if there is no loss in accuracy. If you are not sure of or satisfied with the quality of your translation, do not translate; romanize per
Ideally, our terminology should be unified within and across articles, meaningful to non-Korean speakers, and traceable to the original Korean for verification. Inventing English names can aid understanding, but missing any of the steps in this guidance can work against our goals.
Create alternate title redirects
Per
People names
In order to determine the Latin spelling of a Korean person's name, follow these steps in order and stop when you reach a step that adequately gives a spelling for your situation.
- 1. Use common name
- Per WP:COMMONNAME, use whichever spelling and name for the person is widely used in English-language sources. This may be a name in some other language and not their Korean name. If there is no clear consensus on spelling in the sources, consider moving onto step 2.
- 2. Follow personal preference
- If the person's preferred English name or Latin spelling is known, use that.
- 3. Romanize
- Following the table below, romanize the person's name depending on when and where they are primarily notable. If significantly notable in multiple categories below, prioritize recency.
Primary notability | Romanization system | Notes |
---|---|---|
|
McCune–Reischauer |
|
|
Revised Romanization |
|
|
See notes |
|
Hangul | RR | MR | Use this spelling |
---|---|---|---|
김 | Gim | Kim | Kim |
이 | I | I | Lee |
박 | Bak | Pak | Park |
최 | Choe | Ch'oe | Choi |
강 | Gang | Kang | Kang |
신 | Sin | Sin | Shin |
오 | O | O | Oh |
우 | U | U | Woo |
Royalty
Generally, if there is no established common name for a monarch, their article titles should use the format "Name of Kingdom". For example: Taejo of Joseon and Gojong of Korea. There are currently some exceptions to this pattern, due to either common name (e.g. Sejong the Great) or disambiguation (Queen Seondeok of Silla and King Seondeok of Silla).
Article titles on princes should follow the "(Grand) Prince title" format. For example: Grand Prince Yeongchang and Prince Yangpyeong. Common names can also be an exception to this rule, such as Yeonsangun of Joseon.
Appropriate
Geographic features
Mountains and hills
Unless there is a clear
- For names with the terms "san" (산) or "bong" (봉), use their full unhyphenated Korean names. E.g. Seoraksan and Moranbong.
- For names with "oreum" (오름), split the name. E.g. Yongnuni Oreum and not Yongnunioreum.
- Splitting appears to be the general common name convention for oreum. Splitting also results in fewer spelling ambiguities and more segmented names that are easier to quickly parse.
For disambiguation, put the administrative district(s) the mountain is located in parentheses, e.g. Maehwasan (Gangwon). If the mountain is located in multiple districts, format them like so: Maebongsan (Wonju and Yeongwol) or Gayasan (North and South Gyeongsang). We disambiguate like this by default because Korea has very few distinct mountain ranges, so disambiguating by mountain range often does not work.
Rivers
Unless there is a clear
Islands
Unless there is a clear
Controversial place names
For places with disputed English names, namely the
As of August 2024[update]:
- The [[East Sea]] is between Japan and Korea.
- The [[Sea of Japan|East Sea]] is between Japan and Korea.
- The [[Sea of Japan]] (East Sea) is between Japan and Korea.
- The [[Sea of Japan]], or East Sea, is between Japan and Korea.
- The [[Sea of Japan]] is between Japan and Korea.
- (in an article about Japan–Korea disputes) There is currently a naming dispute over whether the [[Sea of Japan]] should be called the "East Sea".
This guideline is not an expression of preference for any particular name; it is simply following Wikipedia policy.
These titles have changed in the past, and may change again. If you have a strong understanding of the previous move proposals and Wikipedia's policies, and you think you have a good case to propose renaming such contested articles, you are welcome to do so. Do not make move requests lightly; poorly reasoned move requests will likely be
Temples
Unless there is a clear
Works
If there is no clear
If the title of the work did not have spaces in it (e.g. if it was in Hanja, which does not have spaces), you may optionally consider inserting them into the romanized title. Try to follow common spacing conventions: use spaces to separate ideas or phrases and avoid inserting them indiscriminately between every character.
Titles of works that have been romanized should be presented in italicized
- King Sejong wrote Wŏrin ch'ŏn'gang chigok.
- King Sejong wrote Wŏrin Ch'ŏn'gang Chigok.
Alternatively, the romanization can be presented with a parenthetical gloss with the original Hangul and/or Hanja, if relevant. If an English translation is provided (as opposed to a romanization) it should also be italicized but using title case:
- King Sejong wrote a poem called Songs of the Moon Shining on a Thousand Rivers (월인천강지곡; 月印千江之曲; Wŏrin ch'ŏn'gang chigok).
- King Sejong wrote a poem called Songs of the Moon Shining on a Thousand Rivers (월인천강지곡; 月印千江之曲; Wŏrin Ch'ŏn'gang Chigok).
Administrative divisions
Provinces
Use the following spellings for both article titles and in the body of any article (you can truncate the disambiguation for Gangwon/Kangwon Province).
Note that many of these provinces have official English names that differ from these spellings; see
North Korean
South Korean
Cities
Use the
An exception to the above is for disambiguating Sejong City vs. the person Sejong the Great. Most other disambiguations can be handled by adding a comma and upper-level administrative division, e.g. Anyang, Gyeonggi (vs. Anyang in China).
For pre-modern cities that still exist and go by the same name, use the modern spelling. E.g. use "
Counties
Romanize per
Districts
Romanize per
Towns, neighborhoods, and villages
Romanize per
Visual guide
Below is a visual guide for administrative divisions in both North and South Korea, with examples of how to handle each level.
Level | Subtype | Hangul | Correct rendering | Incorrect renderings | Separate example of disambiguation for subtype |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First-level | Province | 황해북도 | North Hwanghae Province | Hwanghaebuk-do, North Hwanghae | Kangwon Province, North Korea |
Directly governed city
Special city Special administrative region |
평양직할시 | Pyongyang | P'yŏngyang, Pyongyang Chikhalsi | Sinuiju Special Administrative Region | |
Second-level | City | 신의주시 | Sinuiju | Sinuiju-si | Anju, South Pyongan |
County | 갑산군 | Kapsan County | Kapsan-kun, Kapsan | Unsan County, South Pyongan | |
District | 중구역
청남구 득장지구 |
Chung-guyok | Chung
Chongnam-ku Tukchang-chigu |
Kumho, South Hamgyong | |
Third-level | Town | 보천읍 | Pochon-up | Pochon Town | Kujang (town) |
Neighbourhood
Village |
기정동
풍계리 |
Kijong-dong | Kijong Neighbourhood
Punggye Village |
— | |
Worker's district | 남양로동자구 | Namyang Workers' District | Namyang Rodongja-ku | — |
Level | Subtypes | Hangul | Correct rendering | Incorrect renderings | Separate example of disambiguation for subtype |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provincial level | Province
Special self-governing province |
경상북도 | North Gyeongsang Province | Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, Gyeongsangbuk Province, Gyeongbuk Province | Gangwon Province, South Korea |
Special city
Metropolitan city Special self-governing city |
서울특별시 | Seoul | Seoul Teukbyeolsi, Seoul Special City | Sejong City | |
Municipal level | City | 수원시 | Suwon | Suwon-si | Anyang, Gyeonggi |
County | 칠곡군 | Chilgok County | Chilgok-gun, Chilgok | Goseong County, South Gyeongsang | |
District | 종로구 | Jongno District | Jongno-gu, Jongno-gu District | Jung District, Daegu | |
Submunicipal level | District | 덕양구 | Deogyang District | Deogyang-gu | Nam District, Pohang |
Town | 가은읍
평창읍 문산면 |
Gaeun | Gaeun Town
Pyeongchang Town Munsan Township |
Seo-myeon, Gyeongju | |
Neighborhood
Village |
삼성동
노근리 |
Samseong-dong | Samseong Neighborhood
Nogeun Village |
Buam-dong, Seoul |
Notes
- ^ If inline, in parentheses or in a footnote. If the main article topic, in the {{Infobox Korean name}} and in the lead first parentheses.