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Review focus: People's names, personal name, generational name, onomancers
Asian Business Code Words Index NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine
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One of the most unusual aspects of Korea's clan-based society, and one that also plays a vital role in business and all other areas of life, is names - people's names. Altogether there are about 273 family names in Korea, but over half of all Koreans are named Kim, Lee, Pak, or Chai. This situation apparently exists because Korea was founded by a very few families whose names became imbued with a sacred quality and were assiduously maintained from one generation to the next. Confucianism incorporated the concept of revering one's ancestors, which further encouraged the maintenance of the family name and negated any inclination to adopt a new surname that would have no history and no honor. Another long-standing custom is for each Korean to have two given names - one a personal name and the other a generational name, chosen by the parents, grandparents, or an onomancer (name-giver). A male generational name is given to the first son born in a family, and a female generational name is given to the first daughter. Thereafter all additional sons and daughters in the family are given the same generational names. As the family branches out over generations, the generational names continue in the male and female lines, so that eventually very distant relatives may have a common generational name that goes back to a remote ancestor. A great deal of thought goes into the selection of both personal names and generational names, and it is still common for parents to seek the help of onomancers. The object is to select a name that fits the child based on time of birth and the parents' expectations for the child. Because of the special, almost mystical, role that names play in Korean society, Koreans are very sensitive about their names, and there are numerous taboos about using them. Generally speaking, first names are used only by family members and close school friends. Many older Koreans are so sensitive about their personal names that they do not like to hear other people say them aloud. Korean women do not change their names when they marry. They may be called by their maiden name, by the title of puin (wife) or ojumoni (wife) or addressed as "the wife of Mr. Lee," and so on. To get around the extraordinary problem created by having many people named either Kim, Lee, Pak or Choi, the Koreans use titles connected with their profession, place of work, and rank. In a large company where there are dozens to hundreds of Lees, Kims, Paks and Chois who are all managers, they are distinguished by their title (supervisor, manager, general manager) plus their section or division. If there are two or more Manager Lees in one section, they may be referred to as Manager Lee of Production No. 1, Manager Lee of Production No. 2, and so on. On the personal side, Koreans also use the areas where they live to identify each other. Many of the most common names in Korea may be spelled two or three different ways. Certain syllables of the Korean language are also pronounced differently by many people, making the names sound different, especially to foreign ears that are not totally sensitized to the variations in the language. This name situation creates special problem for foreigners newly arrived in Korea who try to telephone people they have recently met. Not being aware of the seriousness of the situation, they frequently fail to get or remember the titles and sections or departments of the people concerned and are therefore unable to identify which Lee, Choi, Pak or Kim they want to talk to. Koreans who have been educated abroad or had substantial experience with Westerners in Korea have become accustomed to foreigners calling them Mr., Mrs., or Miss, and it is becoming more commonplace for them to use these Western titles when addressing each other, especially when they do not know an individual's proper Korean title. It is very important for foreign travelers and business people visiting Korea to carefully write down the full name, title (if any), and company section of all Koreans who they might want to call or meet again. On a personal level, it is also wise to get their home addresses and even their position in the family (first or second son or daughter). The name problem in one of the primary reasons name-cards are so important in doing business in Korea. Koreans are especially sensitive about the use of first names. Before deciding to use a foreign first name, for example, they often confer with family members and debate the matter with a seriousness that surprises most Westerners. Commented a veteran foreign business executive: "In my seventeen years in Korea I have been able to develop close, first-name relationships with only five Koreans. I recall that when I first arrived here, the American ambassador advised me that it would take me one year to get to know a Korean, two years before they would accept me (if I didn't make any terrible mistakes), and three years before I would be able to get any work done. "The ambassador's timetable proved to be painfully accurate. U.S. companies that assign managers here for only two or three years are wasting time and money. Friendship and trust must be both built up on both sides, and if it is solid it will last a lifetime. Once you have established this kind of relationship with Koreans, they will never forget you and will do everything they can to maintain the relationship." Korean business people do not refer to each other by their first names no matter how long they may have known each other or how close their personal relationships. The proper and only accepted protocol is to use last names, and where executives are concerned, titles. In all formal situations, foreigners are advised to follow the same etiquette, including situations involving someone they know who has an English nickname. Foreign nicknames should be used only in informal, one-on-one situations which Koreans without nicknames will not feel left out or envious of the obvious intimacy of the relationship. Again, when foreigners do not know an individual's title, or it is awkward to use in either English or Korean, it is acceptable for them to address Koreans on any level as Mr., Mrs., or Miss.
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Boye Lafayette de Mente is one of our regular monthly columnists at the 
| This month's column is excerpted from Korean Etiquette & Ethics in Business, by Boye Lafayette De Mente available from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company |
© Boye Lafayette De Mente & the Asia Pacific Management Forum 1999
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