[KS] Editing romanised Korean into 'readable' English

rupert rupert at aks.ac.kr
Thu Jan 15 00:46:36 EST 2004


Part of my job is editing English and I frequently come across lengthy Korean terms. Some pose no real problem such as say, yangban and pyeongmin, but more unusual terms, especially longer ones can be a bit of an eyefull. The following are some recent examples - in increasing length:

jageup jajak
Yeoyudang Jeonseo 
Manseongdaedongbo 
Joseonsanjikjangnyeogye
Munhwa Yussi Gajeongbo 
japwabangmok and japgwa-jungin 
Wageuneo boju manseongdaedongbo 
Daehanminguk Cheongnyeon oegyodan
Joseonwangjosahoeuiseongchwiwa gwisok  

And they get longer ...

Would it not be better in essays to have some Korean in there to help clarify matters, or to be easier on the eyes of people who read Korean? For example:

blah blah blah  Joseonsanjikjangnyeogye(???????) blah blah blah

After all, we often sometimes Chinese charaters in texts - why not Korean? Or do you like reading those lengthy romanised phrases? What do you scholarly types out there think? Doesn't have to be a solid rule but it could be acceptable, could it not? I have to deal with this stuff everyday ...

Rupert Atkinson





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