[KS] RR romanization rules and conventions

McCann, David dmccann at fas.harvard.edu
Tue Jul 2 06:31:02 EDT 2013


I thought there'd been some leeway given-- so to speak, or spell-- for  
personal names, even under the new 'system.'

David McCann



On Jul 2, 2013, at 3:41 AM, Eugene Y. Park wrote:

> 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
>
>



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