Korean names consist of two parts: a family name and a given name. Traditionally, a child takes their father's surname like in many other cultures, but Korean women do not take their husband's surname after marriage.
Rules restricting marriage
In Korea, a child inherits his or her father's surname. Traditionally, men and women who have the same surnames and "ancestral homes", called dongseong dongbon (Hangul: 동성동본, Hanja: 同姓同本), are not permitted to marry.
The family name (or 'surname') is inherited patrilineally from one's father and shared with other siblings. It always comes before the given name and is usually a single syllable/character.
Commonly, when babies are born they take the father's surname, but recently, even if it's still only a small number, there are some cases in which the children take the mother's family name. However, when women get married they keep their own surnames, instead of changing them to that of their husband's.
Korean women keep their surnames after marriage based on traditional reasoning that it is inherited from their parents and ancestors, and cannot be changed.
Whether a woman keeps her name or uses her partner's after marriage is a matter of personal preference, and today, there are no legal issues with doing either.
Long gone are the days when women had no choice but to take her husband's name as soon as she said “I do”. Nowadays, it's completely up to you. And you have are a wide array of choices when it comes to what to do with your name.
“Mrs.” is the proper title for a married woman whether she has taken her spouse's last name or not. This was not always the case–you used to only use Mrs. if you were taking your husband's first and last name– but times have changed!
Korean names consist of two parts: a family name and a given name. Traditionally, a child takes their father's surname like in many other cultures, but Korean women do not take their husband's surname after marriage.
The enduring popularity of the Kim family name can be traced back to its royal origins. Kim has its roots in two separate royal families; the Silla dynasty (57BC — 935AD) and the Gaya confederacy (42AD-562AD). When these two kingdoms united, the resulting merger led to Kim becoming one of the most popular family names.
The word 애기 (aegi) is a cute way of saying 아기 (agi), which means “baby. This Korean term is used as a sweet way of saying “baby”.
Nevertheless, there was long a law in place to forbid marriage between people with the same surname and ancestral paternal origin. In 1997, however, South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled the law unconstitutional, and the civil code was amended in 2005 to forbid only marriage between closely related people.
In traditional Korean culture, like many traditional cultures, marriage between a man and a woman were decided by the bride and groom's elders. As in Confucian values family and the customs of a family is placed above all. Marriage is considered the most important passage in one's life.
In South Korea, the legal age of marriage is 18 years with no exceptions. Under Article 807 of the Civil Code 2011 the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years. The age of majority in South Korea is 19 years old, therefore if a person aged 18 wants to marry, they require parental/guardian consent.
See for yourself what they had to say: 63.3 percent of Men's Health followers said they would be upset if their wives kept their maiden names. 96.3 percent of Men's Health followers said they wouldn't take a woman's last name if she asked them to. What are your thoughts on women who keep their last names?
“Coverture is a legal formation that held that no female person had a legal identity,” explains Allgor.
In the US, most women adopt their husband's family name when they get married – around 70%, according to one of the largest data analyses in recent years.
For some women, keeping their surname is preserving the personal and familial identity they have always had, Carr said. “That could be tied to their parents, tied to their ethnic or racial heritage – names are very meaningful.”
Powell says that when a man decides to take a woman's last name, the most common reasons include the man not liking his own last name, not feeling attached to his family name or making a political statement.
When you marry you are free to keep your name or take your husband's name but one thing is clear—it's absolutely your choice in most states and countries around the world. In fact, it's becoming much more popular for a recently married woman to keep her last name.
Kim, Lee and Park have traditionally been the most common surnames in Korea. Korean family names are typically one syllable in length, with a few exceptions.
Is There Still a Royal Family in Korea? There is still an Imperial royal family of Korea. His Imperial Highness King Yi Seok has lived his entire life in Korea.