[KS] RR romanization rules and conventions

[Eugene Y. Park]

Dear colleagues,

I can fully relate to Chuck's concern. I see that the Revised 
Romanization system renders the surnames 김, 이, and 박 respectively 
Kim, Yi, and Pak--thus contradicting the RR system itself. If my memory 
serves me right, though, I think I've come across renderings of 김 and 
박 as Gim and Bak, obviously according to RR.

Best,

Gene

Eugene Y. Park
Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History
Director, James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies
University of Pennsylvania
http://www.history.upenn.edu/faculty/park.shtml

On 7/2/2013 1:30 PM, Charles Muller wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I have noticed in recent articles published by first-tier Korean 
> journals that use RR romanization, the usage of "Yi" to render 이 as a 
> surname (rather than "I" as seems to be stipulated by the Korean 
> government, e.g. http://www.korean.go.kr/eng/roman/roman.jsp).
>
> Having inquired to journal editors who have authorized this rendering, 
> I have basically gotten a response to the effect that this is an 
> exception to RR that is developing as a convention for surnames to 
> avoid confusion. However, these responses so far have been based more 
> or less on hearsay, and no one has been able to provide me with 
> documentation.
>
> As the editor of an online dictionary that uses RR for romanizing 
> Korean terms, I would like to see if I can reconcile the matter in as 
> concrete a manner as possible, so any leads would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Regards,
>
> Chuck