How to use
Type the name in Hangul, exactly as it is registered in Korea’s civil register (the Family Relation Register), into the “Name in Hangul” box. If it contains Latin letters, digits or a bare consonant such as ㄱ, nothing is converted and the tool tells you which character is the problem.
- Surname length: “Auto” assumes a one-syllable surname and recognizes only seven common two-syllable surnames. If the split is wrong, choose “1 syllable” or “2 syllables”, or type a space between surname and given name. Where there is a space, the name is split at that point.
- Given name: “Joined” writes GILDONG and “Hyphen (-)” writes GIL-DONG.
In the result, “Passport style (uppercase)” is the largest line. Below it come “Surname” and “Given names”, separated the way the application form separates them, then the “Regular case” spelling with only the initials capitalized, and “Syllable by syllable”, which shows each syllable of the name on its own. Press one of the surname buttons at the bottom and that spelling replaces the surname in both the passport style and the regular-case line. The button tagged “Revised Romanization” is the spelling the system itself produces, and the percentage on each button is the share of 2007 passport records that used that spelling.
How Revised Romanization writes a name
The Revised Romanization of Korean, the official system issued by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, sets these rules for personal names.
- Surname and given name are separated by a space, and the given name is written as one word. A hyphen between syllables is also allowed. Examples: 민용하 → Min Yongha (Min Yong-ha), 송나리 → Song Nari (Song Na-ri)
- Sound changes inside a name are not reflected. Examples: 한복남 → Han Boknam (not Bongnam), 홍빛나 → Hong Bitna
- Consonants and vowels follow the system’s tables. ㄱ, ㄷ and ㅂ are g, d and b before a vowel, and k, t and p at the end of a syllable. ㄹ is r before a vowel and l at the end of a syllable, and ㄹㄹ is ll. ㅢ is written ui even where it is pronounced like ㅣ.
- Surname spellings are “to be determined separately”, and so far nothing has been determined.
What the converter gives for some names
The converter romanizes a name one syllable at a time. A final consonant is written the way it sounds when that syllable is said on its own (빛 → bit), and sound changes between neighboring syllables are ignored. The surname is first shown converted by the same tables.
| Input | Passport style (uppercase) | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 홍길동 | HONG GILDONG | Matches the example in the ministry’s guidance |
| 김빛나 | GIM BITNA | Final ㅊ is written t. Pick KIM for the surname and you get KIM BITNA |
| 한복남 | HAN BOKNAM | Pronounced “Bongnam”, but spelled letter by letter |
| 최설리 | CHOE SEOLLI | ㄹ after a final ㄹ gives ll |
| 이의현 | I UIHYEON | ㅢ is ui, and the surname 이 is I under the system |
| 김가을 | GIM GAEUL | With “Hyphen (-)”, GIM GA-EUL |
| 남궁민수 | NAMGUNG MINSU | The two-syllable surname is recognized automatically |
For a name like 가을, where running the syllables together could lead someone to break them in the wrong place, a note under “Syllable by syllable” says a hyphen may be used. This applies to names where a following syllable starts with a vowel (하은, 슬아) and names where a final ㄴ is followed by ㄱ (민구, 한결).
What to know for the passport
- The romanized name in a passport is the Hangul name in the Family Relation Register, converted by the romanization system syllable by syllable (Enforcement Rule of the Passport Act, Article 2-2(1)). If the surname in the Family Relation Register differs from the one in your resident registration, the Family Relation Register wins.
- The given name is written as one word as a rule, and a hyphen between syllables is allowed. Writing the syllables with a space between them is also permitted if you want it, but this converter does not produce that form.
- Abbreviations, numbers and symbols that stand for a title, an honorific, a qualification and the like, as well as baptismal names, are not allowed (CEO, DR, SIR, 1ST and so on).
- When a passport is reissued, the romanized name is in principle kept the same as in the previous one. The ministry’s explanation is that with a different spelling you could be taken for the holder of a forged or altered passport and refused entry when you return to a country you have visited before. That is why it tells first-time applicants to choose carefully.
Common surname spellings
Because the system leaves surnames open, several spellings are in real use. With the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Institute of Korean Language examined 63,351 passport records from 2007, and some of what it found is below. The figures show how often each spelling was used, not which one is correct.
| Surname | Spelling from the consonant table | Most used in 2007 passports |
|---|---|---|
| 김 | Gim | KIM 99.3%, GIM 0.6% |
| 이 | I | LEE 98.5%, YI 1.0%, RHEE 0.2% |
| 박 | Bak | PARK 95.9%, BAK 1.8%, PAK 1.7% |
| 최 | Choe | CHOI 93.1%, CHOE 6.5% |
| 정 | Jeong | JUNG 48.6%, JEONG 37.0%, CHUNG 9.2% |
| 조 | Jo | CHO 73.1%, JO 25.6% |
| 윤 | Yun | YOON 48.9%, YUN 40.6% |
| 장 | Jang | JANG 84.5%, CHANG 14.9% |
| 임 | Im | LIM 71.0%, IM 21.5% |
The converter carries the shares for 83 surnames from this study, so the spellings for the surname you enter appear as buttons. For a surname the study doesn’t cover, you get a single button with the spelling from the system and a note that there are no usage figures. Among the two-syllable surnames, 독고 is one of these.
What this converter doesn’t do
- It produces only spellings that apply the system syllable by syllable. It does not produce foreign-style names or personal spellings that depart from the system. The one thing you can choose is the spelling of the surname.
- The surname shares come from 2007 records and may differ from current usage.
- Whether the spelling you apply for is accepted is up to the passport office. This result does not guarantee the outcome of that review.