[KS] new Romanization goes public

[Peter Mauro Schroepfer]

You heard it on the Korean Studies List first!

On Tuesday July 4th at 10am the Cabinet will be informed about the new
Romanization system. This is not required, I hear, but it's nice to keep
everyone at the top of government informed of what's going on before they
see it on the news. Shortly thereafter, at 11:30 am, the Minister of Culture
and Tourism will announce the details of the new system to the public at a
press conference. 

After lunch, Korea's two English language newspapers, neither of which have
ever followed the now former system with any consistency, will likely begin
writing editorials about how the now former system was fine and shouldn't
have been changed. A few foreigners can be predicted to write these English
language papers also claiming that MR-based is perfect and shouldn't have
been abandoned. Unfortunately they will not actually be able to use MR in
these numerous letters to the editor. I've never even heard of anyone
writing the Herald or Times encouraging them to use the critical
diacriticals, even decades before it was a computer issue. I don't mean
anything to anyone here when I say this and perhaps shouldn't say this much,
but the thought did occur to my little self here. Anyway...

The new system becomes legally binding for government functions when it is
formally proclaimed(=koshi-ed/gosi-ed) in the kwanbo/gwanbo. This should
happen within the next few days. Road signs (and annaep'an/annaepan at
tourist spots, etc.) are given until December 31, 2005 to make the change.
Government publications that use the now former system may continue to exist
until February 28, 2002.

Among the many issues yet to be finalized are at what level the Ministry of
Education is going to have the new system taught in schools, how strongly
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is going to encourage (or force?)
the new system's use in passports, and more husok choch'i/jochi.

More details later if anyone still cares...

peter schroepfer

PS: I'm all for seeing that flag talked about here, not because I like to
see numerous emails about the same subject often with nothing new but
because once in a while it wouldn't hurt the List to think about something
practical. Practical is bad, of course, when it's redundant ("Er, I'm new
here, but how do you get hangOOOOl on yer computer?"), but the flag could be
one of the most useful things this List ever does. In my humble opinion, of
course. 



%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%