i am just want to know why korean people dont have english names
just like the korean actors and actress, i never hear someone have a english names
and all their names seems like the same,isnt it?
does korean people dont like english names?

well 50/50, alot of them in my school have english name and also alot don't
hmmmm maybe its their pride?

yeash i wonder the same thing tooo


why they kinda be like china and taiwan and hong kong actor/actress with eng name

even though most of thier last name is either lee or kim

the probably why almsot all korean name look alike

i think most korean names are easier to pronounce than chinese names..when people choose an english name it is usually so other don't always say their names wrong..so maybe thats why koreans keep their korean names..unless their name is hard to say.

when they say they are pride, then why the dramas always have a english name

i think depend on the invidividually..

not really all korean don't have english names!

chinese and japanese actors don't either. HK and taiwan tho

I'm taking a wild guess, but maybe because Korean movies haven't hit the American (or any other English-speaking place) market yet, so they feel it's unnecessary to change their name to appease English speakers. I'm sure that many Chinese and Japanese actors only changed their names to make it easier to connect to English audiences.

i agree with the same name but there are korean people that have english names. for example: teddy and danny (taebin) from 1tym, eric and andy from shinhwa.

I think your answer is probably the correct one. Once the Korean entertainment industry becomes mainstream like the HK one, I'm sure you'll see Korean stars adopt English names. For eg. one of the most well known Korean stars worldwide is Bi/Rain, not just because of his talent, but he has a name (nickname) that's easy to pronounce to the non-korean fans.

i think its better not to have eng name. i think its cool how korean and japanese use their traditional name instead of most chinese now who have eng names and abandoned their chinese names.

im a chinese and i have an english name but i don't like having one. not bcuz i don't like the name, i just don't like the idea of we chinese have to have an english name instead of using our traditional names. i think traditional names make a every race different.

Chinese shud hv chinese name, korean shud hv korean names, japanese shud have japanese names, english ppl shud hv english names.. etc..

just my opinion..

I think it is because they are proud to have their own names without mixing it with the english name..
hahaha..guess so only..

Hm... I know there are a lot of korean celebs who change their names into other Korean names.

HyunBin- Kim TaePyung
Jun JiHyun- Wang JiHyun
Ha JiWon- Jun HyeRim
Han JiHye- Lee JiHye
Choi JiWoo- Choi MiHyang
JangHyuk- Jeong Yong Joon
Ha Risu- Lee Kyung-eun
Son YeJin- Sun UnJin
Song SeungHun- Song SeungBok
WonBin- Kim DoJin
Yoo InYoung- Yoo HyoMin
Lee DongGun- baptised EMMANUEL

Credits- Star-loverz.com/forums + wikipedia

And what about Se7en, G-Dragon, Rain, Eric & Andy (shinhwa), Danny, etc.... Mostly singers though. =/

the reason why
is because THEY ARENT ENGLISH
its cause they're Korean
duuuuhh!!

i have 2 korean friends, one is named joseph and the other is named kristy

alot of chinese celebs have englsih names more than korean celebs .... well what i think like Jay chou...etc
HK:
Aaron kwok
Andy lau
Raymond lam
Ron ng
Tavia yeung
Eason chan
Louis koo
Bosco Wong
Fiona sit etc..there is ALOT more (soory if i get any wrong)
almost every single single celebs in HK have englsih names

But in korean there isnt much of korean celeb with english names. There are some but NOT alot at all.

My sister's boyfriend is Korean and he does have
an English name. So does his brother and a few
of our friends who are Koreans, but a majority
of them don't have English names. No idea why.

Well, maybe of them doesn't want an english name maybe. They probably did prefer their korean names.

Maybe it's because English names are hard for koreans to pronounce? But many singers/actors/actresses in Hong Kong have English names nowadays.

singers or actors who have english name are mostly from the states
like Brian (fly to the sky)
Teddy, Danny (1tym)
eric, andy (shinhwa)
micky (dbsg)
Stephanie (CSJH)
Tony an (HOT jtl)
that Daniel guy i forgot his last name, that english and korean mix
and Dennis, i think he's a american korean mix

and the other ones just cuz they want to be unique

korea is not an english-speaking country and they don't have such high-level education on english like hongkong people do.....they probably don't know any english names to name themselves.......look at Rain/Bi....i know he likes it unique...but it's not a normal name....
they just don't care...why would they need english names? when their original names are sooo easy to remember??
and they can't really pronouce it rite either....like eric....they say it like elic, and brian blian, and Ryan Lion ~

i like korean actors/actress not having korean names...it makes them sound more exotic & fun. I had fun remembering their names b/c its so unfamiliar to me. IT makes them more Korean b/c its unique

The ones dat i know of who have English names are:

-Tim

Here's a pic of Tim:



-Danny Im Tae Bin from 1 TYM
-Teddy from 1 TYM
-Brian Joo from Fly To The Sky
-Fany or Hwan Hee from Fly To The Sky
-Eugene from S.E.S.
-Matthew Eun Ji Won from Sechskies
-Mickey Kang Sung Hoon from Sechskies
-Eric Mun from Shinhwa
-Andy Lee from Shinhwa
-Steve Jung Pil Kyo or Shin Hye Sung from Shinhwa
-Tasha from Tashannie

not all koreans don't have english name.. i have korean friends who have english names.. won bin also has an english name. his english name is anthony.. also kim yoo jin. she's eugene of S.E.S. also eric mun of shinhwa.. daniel henney and dennis oh.. to name a few.

I think its cool to not use english names.. just look like the silly names the hk /taiwanese ppl use.. Rain/Bi its a name thats is there to just look odd..
No i say use your given names, or at least get a name thats normal!

maybe they dn't know their english names or....they dn't know about eng. names...i dunno...just a guess...

I honestly don't see anything wrong with Korean names (or Asian names for that matter).

Even if Korean actors/actresses made it big in Hollywood or elsewhere, I wouldn't want them to get/adapt an English/American name. They are who they are, and part of that is their name.
Leaving their name once they make it big in the West is like leaving behind the people who have supported them when they were still "ours" - Asian.

The same question could be asked of Hollywood stars, actually. How come they don't have Asian names? If we want Asians to adapt English names, then we might as well ask big-time Hollywood celebrities to adapt Asian names.



(So what Asian name would you give Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Cameron Diaz, Angelina Jolie, etc.?)

huh? for the same reason mexican (or insert any other nationality here) actors don't have korean names. i don't think it's because they dislike english names but they don't find it necessary because their entertainment isn't targeted mainly towards english speakers.

i think its cool that they keep a korean name... that means that they have pride!!! lyke if ur talking abt a grout to someone, after u hear the name of the members u will kno wut kind of group they r... lyke super junior 4 example.... whn u hear sj, u thnk its lyke english den u hear their korean names... and it does sound kooler;;;

i like them with their korean names though it's indeed a bit hard to remember. but i guess they dont have english names because they dont see the need to have one and they're not as westernised...

i dunno but the only korean celebs wif eng names i kno is rain bi, se7en, max (changmin)...

My mom says that in Korea and Japan they don't have an english course, is that true? It's true that Korea is a non-english speaking country so maybe that's one reason why? Even though they don't have english names, their korean names are as easy to pronounce too. Like for ex. 김종민 = Kim Jong Min. It's that simple because korean is an alphabet system or whatever you call it; unlike chinese. So I guess what's one reason why most Hong Kong celebs have english names...

correct me if I'm wrong~

As stated a lot in this thread, most korean (singers) have a stage name. So you can't really say that they don't have an English name at all. I think cool that most korean actress/actor/singers stuck with their Korean name, cause then they are still following a tradition (which I find really sweet and homey). But just because they don't have an English name, doesn't mean they don't want to communicate with their English speaking fans or widen their fanbase. Look at how many stars who want to break into the American Ent. and most of them are trying to learn English.

Why do they have to have english names?

I agree with you, Chinese should use their Chinese names, Korean their Korean, Japanese their Japanese etc. However, most Chinese who are born outside their country (and many do not speak the language of their ancestry) adopt western names, and this should be OK too.

I don't think there's a need for them to use English names back in Korea. My Korean classmates use them, though, being in a foreign country and all. But I still call them by their Korean names. It's nice to say Jung Hwa and direct it to a real person, instead of a character/celebrity.

many oof them are christians which is why they have english names. otherwise they mostly keep to their birthnames.

most thier korean are so hard to remmeber some are easu, but would be easier to rmemeber if they've got english name

YAY REALLY LOVE THAT. IM PROUD BEING A TRUE ASIAN

We can't forget that Korean celebrities are marketed and many decisions about their image are not decided upon by themselves. So a name change or keeping their name may be the decision of their management. Some change their English name to another English name. For example, Andy's (from Shinhwa) real name is Jason. SM decided that, along with changing his birthday.

I personally think it should be the person's choice of whatever they are more comfortable with, but in an industry where image is everything, it's doesn't surprise me that name changes occur. Besides, it's not like they're any less of a Korean if they don't use/ have a Korean name or they change their name. A name doesn't make you who you are. Pride comes from the heart.

Also just to point out to the one comment made earlier, many Christian names are Hebrew, not English.

I dunno why they don't have english names.......but when you think about they kinda do....because like a lot of singers have stage names........but I mean it doesn't really matter if you have an english name or not......and I like remembering the korean names.......its fun and they sound unique.....as for the topic about how a lot of chinese celebs have english names well maybe it's just me but I reckon that chinese names are harder to pronounce than korean names so maybe that's why a lot of chinese celebs have english names.....

I just think they have English translations of their names. Like Han Chae-young, the Barbie Doll of Korea, as far as I know her English name is Rachel..

yeah i agree. i think they should stick with their own name and not go all western, no matter how hard it is to pronounce. english names suck anyway!

hmm , sometimes i think it depends on if you want one.
my friend 연신(yeon sin) likes her name , so she uses it in school (and we live in canada!)
but my friend, 경민(kyung min) decided to make an english name , and her name's katie ;

artist have their REAL name and their SCREEN/stage name.

usually screen/stage name are given for people to easily remember it. yes some korean artist almost have or sound the same names. but i dont really see a reason for them to have an english name. actually that's make them unique, you can easily pinpoint that person is a korean artist just by their name


most of the time it really doesnt matter. because if an artist really have "IT" takes to be popular, no matter what the name is, people will remember it.

The reason why some ppl in HK have western names is because it is seen as being cool and sophisticated. The reason why some people in mainland china deciding to have western names is because they just copy people in hk. Also I think that the whole tradition of adopting a western name in HK is because of it's colonial history.

This is a stupid question.

It's like asking why don't Causcasians have Chinese names?

It's because the concept of a name is different between cultures.

Korean names in Korea are the norm - and if they're not looking to interact with English speaking communities - than an English name is uncessesary - and even then - they may retain their origin names because they prefer to.

er...dude...
im not english as well but i have an english name. so i dont think its bcoz they arent english