Names of Korea
Encyclopedia
There are various names of Korea in use today, derived from ancient kingdoms and dynasties. The modern English name Korea
is an exonym derived from the Goryeo
period and is used by both North Korea
and South Korea
in international contexts. In the Korean language
, the two Koreas use different terms to refer to the nominally unified nation: Chosŏn (조선) in North Korea and Hanguk (한국) in South Korea.
s. Even after the invention of hangul
, Koreans generally recorded native Korean names with hanja
, by translation
of meaning, transliteration
of sound, or even combinations of the two. Furthermore, the pronunciations of the same character are somewhat different in Korean and the various Chinese dialects, and have changed over time.
For all these reasons, in addition to the sparse and sometimes contradictory written records, it is often difficult to determine the original meanings or pronunciations of ancient names.
were controlled by Gojoseon
. In contemporaneous Chinese
records, it was written as , which is pronounced in modern Korean as Joseon . Go , meaning "ancient", distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty
. The name Joseon is also now used as the official name of Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Other scholars believe was a translation of the native Korean Asadal
, the capital of Gojoseon: asa being a hypothetical Altaic
root word for "morning", and dal meaning "mountain", a common ending for Goguryeo place names.
. Han is a native Korean root for "leader" or "great", as in maripgan ("king", archaic), hanabi ("grandfather", archaic), and Hanbat ("Great Field", archaic name for Daejeon
). It may be related to the Mongol
/Turkic
title Khan
.
Han was transliterated in Chinese records as 韓 (한, han), 幹 (간, gan), 刊 (간, gan), 干 (간, gan), or 漢 (한, han), but is unrelated to the Chinese people and states also called Han (with a different tone.) (See: Transliteration into Chinese characters
).
, remnants of the fallen Gojoseon were re-united and expanded by the kingdom of Goguryeo
, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
. It, too, was a native Korean word, probably pronounced something like "Guri", transcribed with various Chinese characters: 高句麗, 高勾麗, or 高駒麗 (고구려, Goguryeo), 高麗 (고려, Goryeo), 高離 (고리, Gori), or 句麗 (구려, Guryeo). In 高駒麗, the character 高 ("high") is an adjective, rather than a part of the transliteration. The character 麗 is sometimes pronounced ri.
The source native name is thought to be either *Guru ("walled city, castle, fortress"; attested in Chinese historical documents, but not in native Korean sources) or Gauri (가우리, "center"; cf. Middle Korean and Standard Modern Korean gaunde 가운데).
The theory that Goguryeo referenced the founder's surname has been largely discredited (the royal surname changed from Hae to Go long after the state's founding).
and Silla
, constituting, with Goguryeo, the Three Kingdoms of Korea
. In 668, Silla unified the three kingdoms, and reigned as Unified Silla
until 935.
The succeeding dynasty called itself Goryeo
, in reference to Goguryeo. Through the Silk Road
trade routes, Muslim merchants brought knowledge about Silla and Goryeo to India
and the Middle East
. Goryeo was transliterated into Italian
as "Cauli", the name Marco Polo
used when mentioning the country in his Travels, derived from the Mandarin Chinese form Gāolí. From "Cauli" eventually came the English
names "Corea" and the now standard "Korea" (see English usage below).
In 1392, a new dynasty established by a military coup revived the name Joseon
. The Chinese characters were often translated into English as "morning calm", and Korea's English nickname became "The Land of the Morning Calm"; however, this interpretation is not often used in the Korean language, and is more familiar to Koreans as a back-translation from English. This nickname was coined by Percival Lowell
in his book, "Choson, the Land of the Morning Calm," published in 1885.
In 1897, the nation was renamed Daehan Jeguk ' onMouseout='HidePop("63705")' href="/topics/Korean_Empire">Korean Empire
). Han may have been selected in reference to the ancient Samhan tribes who occupied the southern area of the Korean peninsula.
in 1910, the name reverted to Joseon (officially, the Japanese pronunciation Chōsen). During this period, many different groups outside of Korea fought for independence, the most notable being the Daehan Minguk Imsi Jeongbu , literally the "Provisional government of the Great Han people's nation", known in English as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
( = ‘people’ + country/nation’ = ‘republic’ in East Asian languages).
Korea became independent with the Japanese surrender to the Allies
in World War II
(1945) and the country was then divided
.
In 1948, the South adopted the provisional government's name of Daehan Minguk , known in English as the Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, the North became the Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk literally the "Joseon Democratic People's Republic", known in English as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Koreans use Chosŏn, Namjosŏn , and Bukchosŏn respectively. The term Bukchosŏn, however, is rarely used in the north, although it may be found in the Song of General Kim Il Sung.
In the tourist regions in North Korea and the official meetings between South Korea and North Korea, Namcheuk and Bukcheuk , or "Northern Side" and "Southern Side", are used instead of Namhan and Bukhan.
The Korean language
is called Hangugeo or Hangukmal in the South and Chosŏnmal or Chosŏnŏ in the North. The Korean script is called hangeul
in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea. The Korean Peninsula
is called Hanbando in the South and Chosŏn Pando in the North.
-speaking areas such as mainland China
, Hong Kong
, Macau
and Taiwan
, different naming convention on several terms has been practiced according to their political proximity to which Korean governments although there is a growing trend for convergence.
In the Chinese language, the Korean Peninsula is usually called Cháoxiǎn Bàndǎo and rarely called Hán Bàndǎo . Ethnic Koreans are also called Cháoxiǎnzú , instead of Dàhán mínzú. However, the term Hánguó ren may be used to specifically refer South Koreans.
Before establishing diplomatic relations with the South Korea, the People's Republic of China
tended to use the historic Korean name Cháoxiǎn ( "Joseon"), by referring to South Korea as Nán Cháoxiǎn ( ("South Joseon"). After diplomatic tie was restored, China has used the names that each of the two sides prefer, by referring to North Korea as Cháoxiǎn and to South Korea as Hánguó ( "Hanguk"). The Korean language can be referred to as either Cháoxiǎnyǔ or Hányǔ . The Korean War
is also referred as Cháoxiǎn Zhànzhēng in official documents but it is also popular to use hánzhàn colloquially.
Taiwan
, on the other hand, uses the South Korean names, referring to North Korean as Běihán ( "North Han") and South Korean as Nánhán ( "South Han"). The Republic of China
previously maintained diplomatic relations with South Korea, but has never had relations with North Korea. As a result, in the past, Hánguó had been used to refer to the whole Korea, and Taiwanese textbooks treated Korea as a unified nation (like mainland China). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under the Democratic Progressive Party
Government now considers North and South Koreas two separate countries. However, general usage in Taiwan still refer to North Korean as Běihán ( "North Han[guk]") and South Korean as Nánhán ( "South Han[guk]") while use of Cháoxiǎn is generally limited to ancient Korea. The Korean language is usually referred to as Hányǔ or Hányǔ .
Similarly, general usage in Hong Kong
and Macau
have traditionally referred to North Korea as Bak Hon ( "North Han") and South Korea as Nam Hon ( "South Han"). Under influence from official usage, which is itself influenced by official usage by the People's Republic of China
government, the mainland practice of naming the two Koreas differently has become more common.
In the Chinese language used in Singapore
and Malaysia, North Korea is usually called Cháoxiǎn ( "Chosŏn") with Běi Cháoxiǎn ( "North Chosŏn") and Běihán ( "North Han") less often used, while South Korea is usually called Hánguó ( "Hanguk") with Nánhán ( "South Han[guk]") and Nán Cháoxiǎn ( "South Chosŏn") less often used.
The above usage pattern does not apply for Korea-derived words. For example, Korean ginseng
is commonly called Gāolì shēn .
, the name preferred by each of the two sides for itself is used, so that North Korea is called Kita-Chōsen and South Korea Kankoku ( "Hanguk").
However, North Koreans claim the name Kita-Chōsen is derogatory, as it only refers to the northern part of Korean Peninsula, whereas the government claims the sovereignty over its whole territory. Pro-North people such as Chongryon
use the name Kyōwakoku instead, but the ambiguous name is not popular among others. In 1972 Chongryon campaigned to get the Japanese media to stop referring to North Korea as Kita-Chōsen. This effort was not successful, but as a compromise most media companies agreed to refer to the nation with its full official title at least once in every article, thus they used the lengthy Kita-Chōsen (Chōsen Minshu-shugi Jinmin Kyōwakoku) ( "North Chosŏn (The People's Democratic Republic of Chosŏn)"). From January 2003, this policy started to be abandoned by most newspapers and TV stations, on the basis that other nations with naming issues such as South Korea (ROK) and Taiwan (ROC) are not necessarily referred to by their official names.
For Korea as a whole, Chōsen is commonly used. The term Chōsen, which has a longer usage history, continues to be used to refer to the Korean peninsula, the Korean ethnic group, and the Korean language, which are use cases that won't cause confusion between Korea and North Korea. When referring to both North Korean and South Korean nationals, the transcription
of phonetic English
Korean may be used because a reference to a Chōsen national may be interpreted as a North Korean national instead.
The Korean language
is most frequently referred to in Japan as Kankokugo or Chōsengo . While academia mostly prefers Chōsengo, Kankokugo became more and more common in non-academic fields, thanks to the economic and cultural presence of South Korea. The language is also referred to as various terms, such as "Kankokuchōsengo" , "Chōsen-Kankokugo" , "Kankokugo (Chōsengo)" , etc. Some people refer to the language as Koriago . This term is not used in ordinary Japanese, but was selected as a compromise to placate both nations in a euphemistic process called kotobagari
. Likewise, when NHK
broadcasts a language instruction program for Korean, the language is referred to as hangurugo ; although it's technically incorrect since hangul
itself is a writing system, not a language. Some argue that even Hangurugo is not completely neutral, since North Korea calls the letter Chosŏn'gŭl, not hangul. Urimaru , a direct transcription of uri mal is sometimes used by Korean residents in Japan, as well as by KBS World Radio
. This term, however, may not be suitable to ethnic Japanese whose "our language" is not necessarily Korean.
In Japan, those who moved to Japan usually maintain their distinctive cultural heritages (such as the Baekje-towns or Goguryeo-villages). Ethnic Korean residents of Japan have been collectively called Zainichi Chōsenjin ( "Joseon People in Japan"), regardless of nationality. However, for the same reason as above, the euphemism Zainichi Korian is increasingly used today. Zainichi itself is also often used colloquially. People with North Korean nationality
are called Zainichi Chōsenjin, while those with South Korean nationality
, sometimes including recent newcomers, are called Zainichi Kankokujin ( "Hanguk People in Japan").
solongos means "rainbows". And another theory is probably means derived from Solon tribe
living in Manchuria, a tribe culturally and ethnically related to the Korean people. North and South Korea are, accordingly, Хойд Солонгос (Hoid Solongos) and Өмнөд Солонгос (Ömnöd Solongos).
Other theory:
The name of either Silla
or its capital Seora-beol was also widely used throughout Northeast Asia as the ethnonym for the people of Silla, appearing [...] as Sogol or Solho in the language of the medieval Jurchens and their later descendants, the Manchus respectively.
used (Bukchosŏn) and (Namjosŏn) while South Vietnam
used (Bukhan) and (Namhan) for North and South Korea, respectively. After unification, the northern Vietnamese terminology persisted until the 1990s. When South Korea reestablished diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1993, it requested that Vietnam use the name that it uses for itself, and gradually replaced in usage.
As with other European languages, English historically had a variety of names for Korea derived from Marco Polo's rendering of Goryeo, "Cauli" (see Revival of the names above). These included Caule, Core, Cory, Caoli, and Corai as well as two spellings that survived into the 19th century, Corea and Korea. (The modern spelling, "Korea", first appeared in late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Company
's Hendrick Hamel
.)
Despite the coexistence of the spellings "Corea" and "Korea" in 19th-century English publications, some Koreans believe that Japan, around the time of the Japanese occupation
, intentionally standardised the spelling on "Korea", so that "Japan" would appear first alphabetically. Both major English-speaking governments of the time (i.e. the United States
and the United Kingdom
and its Empire
) used both "Korea" and "Corea" until the early part of the Japanese occupation. English-language publications in 19th century generally used the spelling Corea, which was also used at the founding of the British embassy in Seoul in 1890. However, US minister and consul general to Korea, Horace Newton Allen
, used "Korea" in his works published on the country. At the official Korean exhibit at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 a sign was posted by the Korean Commissioner saying of his country's name that "'Korea' and 'Corea' are both correct, but the former is preferred." This may have had something to do with Allen's influence, as he was heavily involved in the planning and participation of the Korean exhibit at Chicago.
A shift can also be seen in Korea itself, where postage stamps issued in 1884 used the name "Corean Post" in English, but those from 1885 and thereafter used "Korea" or "Korean Post".
By the first two decades of the 20th century, "Korea" began to be seen more frequently than "Corea" - a change that coincided with Japan's consolidation of its grip over the peninsula. Most evidence of a deliberate name change orchestrated by Japanese authorities is circumstantial, including a 1912 memoir by a Japanese colonial official that complained of the Koreans' tendency "to maintain they are an independent country by insisting on using a C to write their country's name." However, the spelling "Corea" was occasionally used even under full Japanese colonial rule and both it and "Korea" were largely eschewed in favour of the Japanese-derived "Chosen".
and Romance languages
spell it "Corea" (or variations) since "c" represents the /k/ sound in most Romance and Celtic orthographies. However, Germanic
and Slavic languages
largely use variants of "Korea" since, in many of these languages, "c" represents other sounds such as /ts/. In languages using other alphabets such as Russian
(Cyrillic), variations phonetically similar to "Korea" are also used for example the Russian name for Korea is Корея, romanization Koreya. Outside of Europe, most languages also use variants of "Korea", often adopted to local orthographies.
n and Central Asia
call themselves Goryeoin or Koryo-saram
, or корейцы in Russian
. Many Goryeoin are living in the CIS
, including an estimated 106,852 in Russia
, 22,000 in Uzbekistan
, 20,000 in Kyrgyzstan
, 17,460 in Kazakhstan
, 8,669 in the Ukraine
, 2,000 in Belarus
, 350 in Moldova
, 250 in Georgia
, 100 in Azerbaijan
, and 30 in Armenia
.
Koreans living in the United States will refer to themselves as jaemi gyopo , or sometimes simply "gyopo" for short.
s over the centuries, including:
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
is an exonym derived from the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
period and is used by both North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in international contexts. In the Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, the two Koreas use different terms to refer to the nominally unified nation: Chosŏn (조선) in North Korea and Hanguk (한국) in South Korea.
History
The earliest records of Korean history are written in Chinese characterChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s. Even after the invention of hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
, Koreans generally recorded native Korean names with hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
, by translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of meaning, transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
of sound, or even combinations of the two. Furthermore, the pronunciations of the same character are somewhat different in Korean and the various Chinese dialects, and have changed over time.
For all these reasons, in addition to the sparse and sometimes contradictory written records, it is often difficult to determine the original meanings or pronunciations of ancient names.
Joseon
Until 108 BC, northern Korea and ManchuriaManchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
were controlled by Gojoseon
Gojoseon
Gojoseon was an ancient Korean kingdom. Go , meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn....
. In contemporaneous Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
records, it was written as , which is pronounced in modern Korean as Joseon . Go , meaning "ancient", distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
. The name Joseon is also now used as the official name of Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Other scholars believe was a translation of the native Korean Asadal
Asadal
In Korean mythology and history, Asadal was the capital city of Gojoseon. It is thought that Asadal was located in Manchuria, Hwanghae, or Pyongyang. The first Korean historical work to mention it is the Samguk Yusa, which cites the Chinese Book of Wei. The Samguk Yusa also cites the Go Gi to the...
, the capital of Gojoseon: asa being a hypothetical Altaic
Altaic languages
Altaic is a proposed language family that includes the Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, and Japonic language families and the Korean language isolate. These languages are spoken in a wide arc stretching from northeast Asia through Central Asia to Anatolia and eastern Europe...
root word for "morning", and dal meaning "mountain", a common ending for Goguryeo place names.
Han
Around the time of Gojoseon's fall, various chiefdoms in southern Korea grouped into confederacies, collectively called the SamhanSamhan
The Samhan period of Korean history comprises confederacies of Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan in central and southern Korean peninsula, during the final century BCE and the early centuries CE....
. Han is a native Korean root for "leader" or "great", as in maripgan ("king", archaic), hanabi ("grandfather", archaic), and Hanbat ("Great Field", archaic name for Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...
). It may be related to the Mongol
Mongolic languages
The Mongolic languages are a group of languages spoken in East-Central Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas plus in Kalmykia. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia and the Mongolian residents of Inner...
/Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
title Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
.
Han was transliterated in Chinese records as 韓 (한, han), 幹 (간, gan), 刊 (간, gan), 干 (간, gan), or 漢 (한, han), but is unrelated to the Chinese people and states also called Han (with a different tone.) (See: Transliteration into Chinese characters
Transliteration into Chinese characters
In Chinese, transcription is known as yīnyì or yìmíng . While it is common to see foreign names left in their original forms in a Chinese text, it is also common to transcribe foreign proper nouns into Chinese characters....
).
Goryeo
Around the beginning of the Common EraCommon Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, remnants of the fallen Gojoseon were re-united and expanded by the kingdom of Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
. It, too, was a native Korean word, probably pronounced something like "Guri", transcribed with various Chinese characters: 高句麗, 高勾麗, or 高駒麗 (고구려, Goguryeo), 高麗 (고려, Goryeo), 高離 (고리, Gori), or 句麗 (구려, Guryeo). In 高駒麗, the character 高 ("high") is an adjective, rather than a part of the transliteration. The character 麗 is sometimes pronounced ri.
The source native name is thought to be either *Guru ("walled city, castle, fortress"; attested in Chinese historical documents, but not in native Korean sources) or Gauri (가우리, "center"; cf. Middle Korean and Standard Modern Korean gaunde 가운데).
The theory that Goguryeo referenced the founder's surname has been largely discredited (the royal surname changed from Hae to Go long after the state's founding).
Revival of the names
In the south, the Samhan resolved into the kingdoms of BaekjeBaekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
and Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
, constituting, with Goguryeo, the Three Kingdoms of Korea
Three Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
. In 668, Silla unified the three kingdoms, and reigned as Unified Silla
Unified Silla
Unified Silla or Later Silla is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, unifying the southern portion of the Korean peninsula...
until 935.
The succeeding dynasty called itself Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
, in reference to Goguryeo. Through the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
trade routes, Muslim merchants brought knowledge about Silla and Goryeo to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Goryeo was transliterated into Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
as "Cauli", the name Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
used when mentioning the country in his Travels, derived from the Mandarin Chinese form Gāolí. From "Cauli" eventually came the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
names "Corea" and the now standard "Korea" (see English usage below).
In 1392, a new dynasty established by a military coup revived the name Joseon
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
. The Chinese characters were often translated into English as "morning calm", and Korea's English nickname became "The Land of the Morning Calm"; however, this interpretation is not often used in the Korean language, and is more familiar to Koreans as a back-translation from English. This nickname was coined by Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell
Percival Lawrence Lowell was a businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death...
in his book, "Choson, the Land of the Morning Calm," published in 1885.
In 1897, the nation was renamed Daehan Jeguk ' onMouseout='HidePop("63705")' href="/topics/Korean_Empire">Korean Empire
Korean Empire
The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...
). Han may have been selected in reference to the ancient Samhan tribes who occupied the southern area of the Korean peninsula.
20th century
When Korea came under Japanese ruleKorea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
in 1910, the name reverted to Joseon (officially, the Japanese pronunciation Chōsen). During this period, many different groups outside of Korea fought for independence, the most notable being the Daehan Minguk Imsi Jeongbu , literally the "Provisional government of the Great Han people's nation", known in English as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was the partially recognised government in exile of Korea, based in Shanghai, China, and later in Chongqing, during the Colonial Korea.-History:...
( = ‘people’ + country/nation’ = ‘republic’ in East Asian languages).
Korea became independent with the Japanese surrender to the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(1945) and the country was then divided
Division of Korea
The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship...
.
In 1948, the South adopted the provisional government's name of Daehan Minguk , known in English as the Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, the North became the Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk literally the "Joseon Democratic People's Republic", known in English as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Korea
Today, South Koreans use Hanguk to refer to just South Korea or Korea as a whole, Namhan for South Korea, and Bukhan for North Korea. South Korea less formally refers to North Korea as Ibuk . In addition the official name for the Republic of Korea in the Korean language is "Dae Han Minguk" .North Koreans use Chosŏn, Namjosŏn , and Bukchosŏn respectively. The term Bukchosŏn, however, is rarely used in the north, although it may be found in the Song of General Kim Il Sung.
In the tourist regions in North Korea and the official meetings between South Korea and North Korea, Namcheuk and Bukcheuk , or "Northern Side" and "Southern Side", are used instead of Namhan and Bukhan.
The Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
is called Hangugeo or Hangukmal in the South and Chosŏnmal or Chosŏnŏ in the North. The Korean script is called hangeul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea. The Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
is called Hanbando in the South and Chosŏn Pando in the North.
Chinese-speaking areas
In ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
-speaking areas such as mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, different naming convention on several terms has been practiced according to their political proximity to which Korean governments although there is a growing trend for convergence.
In the Chinese language, the Korean Peninsula is usually called Cháoxiǎn Bàndǎo and rarely called Hán Bàndǎo . Ethnic Koreans are also called Cháoxiǎnzú , instead of Dàhán mínzú. However, the term Hánguó ren may be used to specifically refer South Koreans.
Before establishing diplomatic relations with the South Korea, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
tended to use the historic Korean name Cháoxiǎn ( "Joseon"), by referring to South Korea as Nán Cháoxiǎn ( ("South Joseon"). After diplomatic tie was restored, China has used the names that each of the two sides prefer, by referring to North Korea as Cháoxiǎn and to South Korea as Hánguó ( "Hanguk"). The Korean language can be referred to as either Cháoxiǎnyǔ or Hányǔ . The Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
is also referred as Cháoxiǎn Zhànzhēng in official documents but it is also popular to use hánzhàn colloquially.
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, on the other hand, uses the South Korean names, referring to North Korean as Běihán ( "North Han") and South Korean as Nánhán ( "South Han"). The Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
previously maintained diplomatic relations with South Korea, but has never had relations with North Korea. As a result, in the past, Hánguó had been used to refer to the whole Korea, and Taiwanese textbooks treated Korea as a unified nation (like mainland China). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
Government now considers North and South Koreas two separate countries. However, general usage in Taiwan still refer to North Korean as Běihán ( "North Han[guk]") and South Korean as Nánhán ( "South Han[guk]") while use of Cháoxiǎn is generally limited to ancient Korea. The Korean language is usually referred to as Hányǔ or Hányǔ .
Similarly, general usage in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
have traditionally referred to North Korea as Bak Hon ( "North Han") and South Korea as Nam Hon ( "South Han"). Under influence from official usage, which is itself influenced by official usage by the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
government, the mainland practice of naming the two Koreas differently has become more common.
In the Chinese language used in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia, North Korea is usually called Cháoxiǎn ( "Chosŏn") with Běi Cháoxiǎn ( "North Chosŏn") and Běihán ( "North Han") less often used, while South Korea is usually called Hánguó ( "Hanguk") with Nánhán ( "South Han[guk]") and Nán Cháoxiǎn ( "South Chosŏn") less often used.
The above usage pattern does not apply for Korea-derived words. For example, Korean ginseng
Ginseng
Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....
is commonly called Gāolì shēn .
Japan
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the name preferred by each of the two sides for itself is used, so that North Korea is called Kita-Chōsen and South Korea Kankoku ( "Hanguk").
However, North Koreans claim the name Kita-Chōsen is derogatory, as it only refers to the northern part of Korean Peninsula, whereas the government claims the sovereignty over its whole territory. Pro-North people such as Chongryon
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan , abbreviated to Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents...
use the name Kyōwakoku instead, but the ambiguous name is not popular among others. In 1972 Chongryon campaigned to get the Japanese media to stop referring to North Korea as Kita-Chōsen. This effort was not successful, but as a compromise most media companies agreed to refer to the nation with its full official title at least once in every article, thus they used the lengthy Kita-Chōsen (Chōsen Minshu-shugi Jinmin Kyōwakoku) ( "North Chosŏn (The People's Democratic Republic of Chosŏn)"). From January 2003, this policy started to be abandoned by most newspapers and TV stations, on the basis that other nations with naming issues such as South Korea (ROK) and Taiwan (ROC) are not necessarily referred to by their official names.
For Korea as a whole, Chōsen is commonly used. The term Chōsen, which has a longer usage history, continues to be used to refer to the Korean peninsula, the Korean ethnic group, and the Korean language, which are use cases that won't cause confusion between Korea and North Korea. When referring to both North Korean and South Korean nationals, the transcription
Transcription (linguistics)
Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of language in written form. The source can either be utterances or preexisting text in another writing system, although some linguists only consider the former as transcription.Transcription should not be confused with...
of phonetic English
Gairaigo
Gairaigo is Japanese for "loan word" or "borrowed word", and indicates a transliteration into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed from Chinese, primarily from English. Japanese also has a large number of loan words from...
Korean may be used because a reference to a Chōsen national may be interpreted as a North Korean national instead.
The Korean language
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
is most frequently referred to in Japan as Kankokugo or Chōsengo . While academia mostly prefers Chōsengo, Kankokugo became more and more common in non-academic fields, thanks to the economic and cultural presence of South Korea. The language is also referred to as various terms, such as "Kankokuchōsengo" , "Chōsen-Kankokugo" , "Kankokugo (Chōsengo)" , etc. Some people refer to the language as Koriago . This term is not used in ordinary Japanese, but was selected as a compromise to placate both nations in a euphemistic process called kotobagari
Kotobagari
refers to the reluctance to use words that are considered politically incorrect in the Japanese language. For instance words such as , , tsunbo , oshi , kichigai , tosatsujō , and hakuchi are currently not used by the majority of Japanese publishing houses; the publishers often refuse...
. Likewise, when NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
broadcasts a language instruction program for Korean, the language is referred to as hangurugo ; although it's technically incorrect since hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
itself is a writing system, not a language. Some argue that even Hangurugo is not completely neutral, since North Korea calls the letter Chosŏn'gŭl, not hangul. Urimaru , a direct transcription of uri mal is sometimes used by Korean residents in Japan, as well as by KBS World Radio
KBS World Radio
KBS World Radio is the official international broadcasting station of South Korea. Owned by the Korean Broadcasting System, the station broadcasts news and information in 11 languages: Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Russian, German, French and Spanish.- See...
. This term, however, may not be suitable to ethnic Japanese whose "our language" is not necessarily Korean.
In Japan, those who moved to Japan usually maintain their distinctive cultural heritages (such as the Baekje-towns or Goguryeo-villages). Ethnic Korean residents of Japan have been collectively called Zainichi Chōsenjin ( "Joseon People in Japan"), regardless of nationality. However, for the same reason as above, the euphemism Zainichi Korian is increasingly used today. Zainichi itself is also often used colloquially. People with North Korean nationality
Nationality Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
The nationality law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea governs who is a citizen of the DPRK, and how one may gain or lose such citizenship.-History:Up until 1963, the DPRK had no formal nationality law...
are called Zainichi Chōsenjin, while those with South Korean nationality
South Korean nationality law
South Korean nationality law defines who is a South Korean citizen, as well as the procedures by which one may be naturalized into South Korean citizenship or renounce it.-Basic definition:South Korean nationality can be acquired in a number of ways:...
, sometimes including recent newcomers, are called Zainichi Kankokujin ( "Hanguk People in Japan").
Mongolia
Mongols have their own word for Korea: Солонгос (Solongos). In MongolianMongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
solongos means "rainbows". And another theory is probably means derived from Solon tribe
Evenks
The Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
living in Manchuria, a tribe culturally and ethnically related to the Korean people. North and South Korea are, accordingly, Хойд Солонгос (Hoid Solongos) and Өмнөд Солонгос (Ömnöd Solongos).
Other theory:
The name of either Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
or its capital Seora-beol was also widely used throughout Northeast Asia as the ethnonym for the people of Silla, appearing [...] as Sogol or Solho in the language of the medieval Jurchens and their later descendants, the Manchus respectively.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, people call North Korea ("Chosŏn") and South Korea ("Hanguk"). Prior to unification, North VietnamNorth Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
used (Bukchosŏn) and (Namjosŏn) while South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
used (Bukhan) and (Namhan) for North and South Korea, respectively. After unification, the northern Vietnamese terminology persisted until the 1990s. When South Korea reestablished diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1993, it requested that Vietnam use the name that it uses for itself, and gradually replaced in usage.
English usage
Both South and North Korea use the name "Korea" when referring to their countries in English.As with other European languages, English historically had a variety of names for Korea derived from Marco Polo's rendering of Goryeo, "Cauli" (see Revival of the names above). These included Caule, Core, Cory, Caoli, and Corai as well as two spellings that survived into the 19th century, Corea and Korea. (The modern spelling, "Korea", first appeared in late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
's Hendrick Hamel
Hendrick Hamel
Hendrick Hamel was the first Westerner to write and experience first-hand in the Joseon Dynasty era in Korea . He later wrote "Hamel's Journal and a Description of the Kingdom of Korea, 1653-1666", published after his return to the Netherlands.Hendrick Hamel was born and died in Gorinchem...
.)
Despite the coexistence of the spellings "Corea" and "Korea" in 19th-century English publications, some Koreans believe that Japan, around the time of the Japanese occupation
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
, intentionally standardised the spelling on "Korea", so that "Japan" would appear first alphabetically. Both major English-speaking governments of the time (i.e. the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and its Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
) used both "Korea" and "Corea" until the early part of the Japanese occupation. English-language publications in 19th century generally used the spelling Corea, which was also used at the founding of the British embassy in Seoul in 1890. However, US minister and consul general to Korea, Horace Newton Allen
Horace Newton Allen
Horace Newton Allen was a Protestant medical missionary and a diplomat from the United States to Korea at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.-Biography:He was born in Delaware, Ohio on April 23, 1858. He lreceived his B.S...
, used "Korea" in his works published on the country. At the official Korean exhibit at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 a sign was posted by the Korean Commissioner saying of his country's name that "'Korea' and 'Corea' are both correct, but the former is preferred." This may have had something to do with Allen's influence, as he was heavily involved in the planning and participation of the Korean exhibit at Chicago.
A shift can also be seen in Korea itself, where postage stamps issued in 1884 used the name "Corean Post" in English, but those from 1885 and thereafter used "Korea" or "Korean Post".
By the first two decades of the 20th century, "Korea" began to be seen more frequently than "Corea" - a change that coincided with Japan's consolidation of its grip over the peninsula. Most evidence of a deliberate name change orchestrated by Japanese authorities is circumstantial, including a 1912 memoir by a Japanese colonial official that complained of the Koreans' tendency "to maintain they are an independent country by insisting on using a C to write their country's name." However, the spelling "Corea" was occasionally used even under full Japanese colonial rule and both it and "Korea" were largely eschewed in favour of the Japanese-derived "Chosen".
Other languages
European languages use variations of the name "Korea" for both North and South Korea. In general, CelticCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
and Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
spell it "Corea" (or variations) since "c" represents the /k/ sound in most Romance and Celtic orthographies. However, Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
and Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
largely use variants of "Korea" since, in many of these languages, "c" represents other sounds such as /ts/. In languages using other alphabets such as Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
(Cyrillic), variations phonetically similar to "Korea" are also used for example the Russian name for Korea is Корея, romanization Koreya. Outside of Europe, most languages also use variants of "Korea", often adopted to local orthographies.
Koreans abroad
Emigrants who moved to RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
call themselves Goryeoin or Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. Approximately 500,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia , the...
, or корейцы in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Many Goryeoin are living in the CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
, including an estimated 106,852 in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 22,000 in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, 20,000 in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, 17,460 in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, 8,669 in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, 2,000 in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, 350 in Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, 250 in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, 100 in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, and 30 in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
Koreans living in the United States will refer to themselves as jaemi gyopo , or sometimes simply "gyopo" for short.
Sobriquets for Korea
In traditional Korean culture, as well as in the cultural tradition of East Asia, the land of Korea has assumed a number of sobriquetSobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
s over the centuries, including:
- 아사달 (阿斯達) AsadalAsadalIn Korean mythology and history, Asadal was the capital city of Gojoseon. It is thought that Asadal was located in Manchuria, Hwanghae, or Pyongyang. The first Korean historical work to mention it is the Samguk Yusa, which cites the Chinese Book of Wei. The Samguk Yusa also cites the Go Gi to the...
, apparently an Old KoreanOld KoreanOld Korean corresponds to the Korean language from the beginning of Three Kingdoms of Korea to the latter part of the Unified Silla, of which period is roughly from 1 AD to 1000 AD. There are many theories to differentiate the Korean language histories. It is distinct from Proto-Korean , which is...
term for Joseon. - 배달 Baedal, an ancient reference to Korea.
- 백의민족 (白衣民族) Baeguiminjok, "The white-clad people".
- 청구 (靑丘) Cheonggu, or "Blue Hills".
- 대동 (大東) Daedong, "Great East".
- 동방 (東邦) Dongbang, literally "an eastern country" but in some contexts referring to Korea.
- 동방예의지국 (東方禮義之國) Dongbang yeui jiguk, "the country of courteous people in the east".
- 동국 (東國) Dongguk, "Eastern Country".
- 동토 (東土) Dongto, "Eastern Land".
- 동이 (東夷) Dong-yiDongyiDongyi was a collective term for people in eastern China and in lands located to the east of ancient China. People referred to as Dongyi vary across the ages.The early Dongyi culture was one of earliest neolithic cultures in China....
, or "Eastern Foreigners". - 금수강산 (錦繡江山) Geumsugangsan, "Land of Embroidered (or Splendid) Rivers and Mountains".
- 군자지국 (君子之國) Gunjajiguk, "Country of Scholarly Gentlemen".
- 계림 (鷄林) GyerimGyerimThe Gyerim is a small woodland in Gyeongju National Park, Gyeongju, South Korea. The name literally means "rooster forest." The grove lies near the old site of the Silla kingdom palace in central Gyeongju. Nearby landmarks include the Banwolseong fortress, Cheomseongdae, the Gyeongju National...
, "Rooster Forest", in reference to an early name for SillaSillaSilla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
. - 해동 (海東) Haedong, "East of the Sea" (here being the Yellow Sea separating China from Korea).
- 팔도강산 (八道江山) Paldogangsan, "Rivers and Mountains of the Eight Provinces", referring to the traditional eight provinces of Korea.
- 소화 (小華) Sohwa, "Lesser Flower" or "Little China" was used by Chinese ambassadors in the Joseon Court but was never officially recognised. It is nowadays considered degrading and is not used.