Wikipedia:WikiProject Korea/Romanizations in books

Wikipedia information page From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page tracks romanization systems used in various reliable books on Korea. It is useful for helping inform our romanization decisions and standards.

As this page is useful for determining which romanization systems are most commonly used, it should predominantly document books published in 2000 and after. Revised Romanization of Korean (RR) was promulgated in July 2000; counting McCune–Reischauer (MR) uses before that would be unfair to RR.

Summary

(Automatically counts rows of each table)

  • Pre-1945 or overall Korea topics: 137
    • # MR books: 104
    • # RR books: 33
  • North Korea books: 19
    • # MR books: 8
    • # RR books: 7
    • # NKR books: 4
  • South Korea books: 51
    • # MR books: 20
    • # RR books: 31

Total (sum of above, doesn't include entries not in tables): 207

Note: the London Korean Links Korea Book Database documents around 1,200 non-fiction English-language Korea-related books that have been published since the year 2000.

Baselines

These are the standard configurations of the relevant romanization systems.

More information System, Hyphen, space, or none? ...
System Hyphen, space, or none?[a] Assimilation?[b] Diacritics?
MR (1961)[c] None[1] Yes[1] Yes[2]
MR (Library of Congress; "ALA-LC") Hyphens in names preceded by family names[3] Yes[3] Yes[4]
RR None; hyphen permitted but discouraged[5][6] No[5] Not applicable[5]
NKR Space, but only in Sino-Korean names[7] Yes[7] Yes[8]
Close

Books on pre-1945 or overall Korea topics

MR

Note: The colors of the "yes" and "no" cells do not imply judgements on good or bad practice; they're simply for quick visual understanding. Officially, the 1961 version of MR that we currently use recommends no hyphens in names, the use of assimilation in names, and the use of diacritics. However, if common practice predominantly ignored these asks, we could consider following common practice.

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Diacritics? Notes
2000 The Origins of the Choson Dynasty John Duncan Yes Yes Yes
2001 An Annotated Compendium of Myths and Legends From Korea James H. Grayson[f] No Yes Yes
2002 Kyŏngju: Old Capital of Shilla Dynasty Inconsistent Unclear Yes [g]
2002 Korea Between Empires, 1895-1919 Andre Schmid No Yes Yes [h]
2002 Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912 Donald Keene Yes No No [i]
2002 Book of Corrections Choi Byonghyon No Yes Yes
2002 Korea: A Religious History James H. Grayson[f] No Yes Yes
2003 Frontier Contact Between Chosŏn Korea and Tokugawa Japan James B. Lewis Yes Yes Yes
2003 A History of Korean Literature Peter H. Lee No Yes Yes [j]
2004 Koguryo: The Language of Japan's Continental Relatives Christopher I. Beckwith Yes Yes First appearance only [k]
2005 Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History Bruce Cumings Yes Yes Yes
2005 New Korean Cinema Chi-Yun Shin, Julian Stringer Yes Yes Yes [l]
2005 The Imjin War Samuel Jay Hawley Yes Yes No [m]
2005 A History of the Early Korean Kingdom of Paekche Jonathan W. Best No Yes Yes [n]
2005 The War for Korea, 1945-1950 Allan R. Millett Yes Unclear, likely yes No [o]
2005 The History of Korea Djun Kil Kim No Yes Yes
2005 Historical Origins of Korean Politics Duk-kyu Jin Yes Yes Yes [p]
2006 The Partition of Korea after World War II Jongsoo Lee No Yes Yes
2006 Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea Keith Pratt No Yes Yes
2006 The Partition of Korea after World War II: A Global History Jongsoo James Lee No Yes Yes
2007 Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey Michael E. Robinson No Yes Yes
2007 Between Dreams and Reality: The Military Examination in Late Chosŏn Korea, 1600–1894 Eugene Y Park Yes Yes Yes
2007 Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea Keith Pratt No Yes Yes
2008 An Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology Choi Won-Oh No Yes Yes
2008 Domesticating the Dharma: Buddhist Cults and the Hwaŏm Synthesis in Silla Korea Richard D. McBride, II No Yes Yes [q]
2008 Culture and Customs of Korea Donald N. Clark Yes Yes Yes [r]
2008 The Power of the Buddhas: The Politics of Buddhism During the Koryŏ Dynasty (918–1392) Sem Vermeersch Yes Yes Yes [s]
2008 Korean Cuisine: An Illustrated History Michael J. Pettid No Yes Yes
2008 The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592–98 Stephen Turnbull, Peter Dennis No Inconsistent Yes [t]
2008 Admiral Yi Sun-sin: A Brief Overview of His Life and Achivements Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project Yes No No [u]
2008 Early Korea: Volume 1, Reconsidering early Korean History Mark E. Byington Yes Yes Yes [v]
2009 Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea Mark Caprio No Yes Yes
2009 Korean: An Essential Grammar Young-Key Kim-Renaud No Unclear, likely yes Yes [w]
2010 A Brief History of Korea Mark A. Peterson, Phillip Margulies No Yes No [x]
2010 Primitive Selves: Koreana in the Japanese Colonial Gaze, 1910-1945 Everett Taylor Atkins Yes Yes Yes [y]
2010 King Sejong the Great: The Everlasting Light of Korea (2nd edition) Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project Yes No No [z]
2010 A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present Michael J. Seth Yes Yes Yes [aa]
2010 The Northern Region of Korea: History, Identity, and Culture Sun Joo Kim No Yes Yes
2010 Establishing a Pluralist Society in Medieval Korea, 918-1170: History, Ideology, and Identity in the Koryŏ Dynasty Remco E. Breuker No Yes Yes [ab]
2010 Admonitions on Governing the People: Manual for All Administrators Transl. by Choi Byonghyon No Yes Yes [ac]
2011 Women and Confucianism in Chosŏn Korea: New Perspectives Youngmin Kim, Michael J. Pettid No Yes Yes [ad]
2011 History of the Korean Language Ki-Moon Lee, S. Robert Ramsey No Yes Yes [ae]
2011 Early Korean Art and Culture: Tomb Murals of Koguryŏ Chai-shin Yu, Tae Ho Lee No Yes Yes [af]
2011 Brokers of Empire: Japanese Settler Colonialism in Korea, 1876–1945 Jun Uchida Yes Yes Yes
2011 A History of Korean Science and Technology Jeon Sang-woon Yes Yes Unclear [ag]
2012 A History of Korea: From Land of the Morning Calm to States in Conflict Jinwung Kim Yes Yes Yes
2013 Colonial Rule and Social Change in Korea, 1910–1945 Hong Yung Lee, Yong Chool Ha, Clark W. Sorensen No Yes Yes
2013 A Korean War Captive in Japan, 1597-1600: The Writings of Kang Hang JaHyun Kim Haboush, Kenneth R. Robinson No Yes Yes [ah]
2013 Fighting for the Enemy: Koreans in Japan's War, 1937-1945 Brandon Palmer Yes Yes Yes
2013 Engraving Virtue: The Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer Young Kyun Oh Yes Yes Yes [ai]
2014 A Family of No Prominence: The Descendants of Pak Tŏkhwa and the Birth of Modern Korea Eugene Y. Park No Yes Yes [aj]
2014 Assimilating Seoul: Japanese Rule and the Politics of Public Space in Colonial Korea, 1910–1945 Todd A. Henry Yes Yes Yes [ak]
2014 The Annals of King T'aejo Choi Byonghyon No Yes Yes
2014 Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese (2nd) Insup Taylor, M. Martin Taylor Yes Yes Yes
2014 Korea’s Ancient Koguryŏ Kingdom Noh Taedon, transl. by John Huston Inconsistent Yes Yes [al]
2015 Under the Ancestors’ Eyes - Kinship, Status, and Locality in Premodern Korea Martina Deuchler Yes Yes Yes
2015 The East Asian War, 1592-1598 - International Relations, Violence and Memory James B. Lewis No Yes Yes [am]
2015 Korea Outline of a Civilisation Kenneth Wells No Yes Yes
2015 The Handbook of Korean Linguistics Lucien Brown, Jaehoon Yeon Unclear Unclear Yes [an]
2015 Archaeology of East Asia: The Rise of Civilisation in China, Korea and Japan Gina L. Barnes Unclear Unclear No [ao]
2016 The Great East Asian War and the Birth of the Korean Nation JaHyun Kim Haboush Yes Yes Yes
2016 The Ancient State of Puyŏ in Northeast Asia Mark E. Byington Yes Yes Yes
2016 Routledge Handbook of Modern Korean History Michael J. Seth Depends on author, generally yes Yes Yes
2017 Belief and Practice in Imperial Japan and Colonial Korea Emily Anderson Depends on author, almost all no Yes Yes [ap]
2017 Catholics and Anti-Catholicism in Chosŏn Korea Don Baker, Franklin Rausch No Yes Yes [aq]
2018 P'ungsu: A Study of Geomancy in Korea Hong-key Yoon No Yes Yes
2018 From the Mountains to the Cities: A History of Buddhist Propagation in Modern Korea Mark A. Nathan No Yes Yes
2019 Sovereignty Experiments: Korean Migrants and the Building of Borders in Northeast Asia, 1860–1945 Alyssa M. Park No Yes Yes
2019 A Korean Scholar’s Rude Awakening in Qing China Transl. by Choi Byonghyon, Seung B. Kye, Timothy V. Atkinson No Yes Yes [ar]
2019 Rediscovering Korean Cinema Sangjoon Lee Yes Yes Yes [as]
2019 A Genealogy of Dissent - The Progeny of Fallen Royals in Chosŏn Korea Eugene Y. Park No Yes Yes
2019 Science and Confucian Statecraft in East Asia Jongtae Lim, Francesca Bray Depends on author, generally no Yes Yes
2019 Urban Modernities in Colonial Korea and Taiwan Jina E. Kim No Yes Yes
2019 A Korean Scholar’s Rude Awakening in Qing China: Pak Chega’s Discourse on Northern Learning Byonghyon Choi, Seung B. Kye, Timothy V. Atkinson No Yes Yes
2020 Korean: A Linguistic Introduction Sungdai Cho, John Whitman No Yes Yes [at]
2020 Yi Sang: Selected Works Jack Jung (Korean portion) Yes No Yes [au]
2020 A Companion to Korean Art J.P. Park, Burglind Jungmann, Juhyung Rhi No Yes Yes
2020 Aspiring to Enlightenment: Pure Land Buddhism in Silla Korea Richard D. McBride, II No Yes Yes [av]
2020 An Chunggŭn: His Life and Thought in His Own Words Jieun Han, Franklin Rausch No Yes Yes [aw]
2020 The Korean Vernacular Story: Telling Tales of Contemporary Chosŏn in Sinographic Writing Si Nae Park No Yes Yes
2020 Turning Toward Edification: Foreigners in Chosŏn Korea Adam Bohnet No Yes Yes
2020 Tales of the Strange by a Korean Confucian Monk: Kŭmo sinhwa by Kim Sisŭp Dennis Wuerthner No Yes Yes [ax]
2020 Queer Korea Todd A. Henry Yes Unclear; inconsistent Yes [ay]
2021 Korea 1905–1945: From Japanese Colonialism to Liberation and Independence Ku Daeyeol No Yes Yes [az]
2021 Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China-Korea Relations Odd Arne Westad Inconsistent (single author), leaning yes Yes Yes [ba]
2021 Kinship Novels of Early Modern Korea: Between Genealogical Time and the Domestic Everyday Ksenia Chizhova No Yes Yes [bb]
2022 Historical Statistics of Korea Myung Soo Cha, Nak Nyeon Kim, Ki-Joo Park, Yitaek Park Unclear Unclear Unclear [bc]
2022 Korea: A History Eugene Y. Park No Yes Yes [bd]
2022 The Two Koreas and their Global Engagements: Culture, Language, Diaspora Andrew David Jackson Yes Yes Yes
2022 New Korean Cinema Chi-Yun Shin, Julian Stringer Yes Yes Yes
2022 New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism: Institution, Gender, and Secular Society Hwansoo Ilmee Kim, Jin Y. Park No Yes Yes [be]
2022 Invented Traditions in North and South Korea Andrew David Jackson, Codruța Sîntionean, Remco E. Breuker, CedarBough Saeji Yes Yes Yes [bf]
2023 City of Sediments: A History of Seoul in the Age of Colonialism Se-Mi Oh Yes Yes Yes
2023 The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Birth of Modern East Asia Sheila Miyoshi Jager Yes Yes Yes
2023 Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Chosŏn Diplomacy with Ming China Sixiang Wang No Yes Yes [bg]
2023 The Red Decades: Communism as Movement and Culture in Korea Pak Noja No Yes Yes
2023 Japanese "Judicial Imperialism" and the Origins of the Coercive Illegality of Japan's Annexation of Korea Kyu-hyun Jo Inconsistent, leaning no No Yes [bh]
2024 The Three Kingdoms of Korea: Lost Civilizations Richard D. McBride II No Yes Yes
2024 Korean Sinitic Poetry from Ancient Times to 1945: Si in the East Jang Wu Lee, David R. McCann, Ji-Eun Lee No Yes Yes
2024 Koryŏsa: The History of Koryŏ, Annals of the Kings, 918–1095 Howard Kahm, John B. Duncan, Park Jongki, Lee Joung Hoon, Edward J. Shultz No Yes Yes [bi]
2024 Korea and the "Others": Studies on Korean Actions and Reactions Towards the Rest of the World Maurizio Riotto No Yes Yes [bj]
2025 The Routledge Handbook of Early Modern Korea Eugene Y. Park No Yes Yes
2025 Korean Economic Growth, 1876-2022 Nak Nyeon Kim One hyphenated name Unclear Yes [bk]
2025 Politics of Public Opinion - Local Councils and People’s Assemblies in Korea, 1567–1894 Ingeol Kim, transl. by Eugene Y. Park No Yes Yes [bl]
Close

Pre-RR books (not included in overall count; just for reference's sake):

  • Sejong the Great: The Light of Fifteenth Century Korea (1991) ed. by Young-Key Kim-Renaud
    • Hyphens in names and yes assimilation
  • The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (1995) by Peter Duus
    • Hyphens in names, generally. Assimilation unclear.
    • Examples: "Pak Jun-yang", "Yi Wŏn-kyun", "Yi Yun-yong", "Kim Ka-jin", "Ŏ Yun-jung", "Sŏ Kwang-bŏm" and more.
    • Possibly some mistakes? "Yi Kun-taek", "Kim Yong-chun".
  • Korea: Tradition & Transformation. A History of the Korean People (1996) by Andrew C. Nahm
    • Hyphens in names and yes assimilation
    • Some mistakes/ad-hoc: "Kim Pu-shik", "Kim Shi-sŭp". Seems to like "sh" for 시 sounds. Sentence case for works. "Nong-ak" ad-hoc hyphenation sometimes but not often.
  • Culture and the State in Late Chosŏn Korea (1999) ed. by Jahyun Kim Haboush and Martina Deuchler
    • Names with no hyphens and yes assimilation

RR

Note: The colors of the "yes" and "no" cells do not imply judgements on good or bad practice; they're simply for quick visual understanding. Officially, hyphens in names are permitted but discouraged and assimilation is prohibited. However, it is common in especially the international media to hyphenate Korean names. We currently recommend hyphenation by default for RR names.

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Notes
2003 The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism Kang Jae-eun Yes No [bm]
2004 Essential Korean Art: From Prehistory to the Joseon Period Park Youngdae, transl. by Chris Johnson, Ahn Soonja No Maybe [bn]
2004 Gaya: A Collection of Research Related to Gaya History Gaya History Policy Committee Depends on author Unclear [bo]
2005[bp] The History and Future of Hangeul Zong-Su Kim Yes No [bq]
2006 Palaces of Korea Kim Dong-uk Unclear Unclear [br]
2008 Goguryeo: In Search of Its Culture and History Ho-tae Jeon Inconsistent Unclear [bs]
2011 Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor Korea Foundation Yes Unclear [bt]
2012 Korea: A Cartographic History John Rennie Short Yes Unclear [bu]
2013 Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Beliefs National Folk Museum of Korea Yes No [bv]
2013 In Grand Style: Celebrations in Korean Art During the Joseon Dynasty (2013) Hyonjeong Kim Han, Kumja Paik Kim, Moon-sik Kim, Jaebin Yoo Depends on author No [bw]
2013 Sul, Korean Alcoholic Beverages Park Rock Darm, Lee Kun Wook Yes Unclear [bx]
2014 Korean History in Maps: From Prehistory to the Twenty-First Century Michael Shin No Yes [by]
2014 Everyday Life in Joseon-Era Korea Michael Shin No Unclear [bz]
2015 Korean Royal Palace: Changdeokgung Yi Hyang-woo Yes No [ca]
2015 Hangeul: The Korean Alphabet Park Chang-won Yes No [cb]
2015 Wisdom of the Earth: Korean Architecture Leeum Museum of Art Yes Unclear [cc]
2016 Brief Encounters: Early Reports of Korea by Westerners Brother Anthony, Robert Neff Yes Unclear [cd]
2016 Anarchism in Korea: Independence, Transnationalism, and the Question of National Development, 1919–1984 Dongyoun Hwang No No [ce]
2017 Gyeongju: The Capital of Golden Silla Sarah Milledge Nelson Unclear, likely no Unclear, likely no [cf]
2017 Project Eagle: The American Christians of North Korea in World War II Robert S. Kim No Unclear [cg]
2018 Studies in Hunminjeongeum Ahn Pyong-hi Yes No [ch]
2018 Global Asian City: Migration, Desire and the Politics of Encounter in 21st Century Seoul Francis L. Collins All have hyphens, but possibly reflecting common practice and personal preferences Unclear [ci]
2018 Korean National Identity Under Japanese Colonial Rule Michael Shin No Unclear, likely no [cj]
2019 A History of Korea Academy of Korean Studies No Unclear
2019 The Portuguese Slave Trade in Early Modern Japan: Merchants, Jesuits and Japanese, Chinese and Korean Slaves Lucio de Sousa No No [ck]
2019 Invincible and Righteous Outlaw: The Korean Hero Hong Gildong in Literature, History, and Culture Minsoo Kang No No [cl]
2020 Baekje Historic Areas of World Heritage National Museum of Korea Unclear Unclear [cm]
2020 The Koreas: The Birth of Two Nations Divided Theodore Jun Yoo No Unclear [cn]
2021 Korean Modern: The Matter of Identity - An Exploration into Modern Architecture in an East Asian Country Peter G. Rowe, Yun Fu, Jihoon Song Inconsistent Unclear [co]
2021 Korean "Comfort Women": Military Brothels, Brutality, and the Redress Movement Pyong Gap Min Unclear, inconsistent Unclear [cp]
2022 A History of Korea (3rd edition) Kyung Moon Hwang No Yes [cq]
2022 Korean Cinema in Global Contexts: Post-Colonial Phantom, Blockbuster and Trans-Cinema Soyoung Kim Unclear Unclear [cr]
2024 Food in the Making of Modern Korea: A Handbook Cherl-Ho Lee Generally yes Unclear [cs]
Close

Yale

  • The Korean Alphabet of 1446 (2002) by Sek Yen Kim-Cho
  • The Korean Language: Structure, Use and Context (2005) by Jae Jung Song
    • Yale except for proper nouns with established spellings.
    • No hyphens in given names.
  • The Handbook of Korean Linguistics (2019) ed. by Lucien Brown and Jaehoon Yeon
    • Uses Yale for linguistics/language, MR for Korean history topics, RR for SK place names, and NKR for NK place names.
  • The Cambridge Handbook of Korean Linguistics (2022) by Sungdai Cho, John Whitman
    • "We use Yale Romanization (YR; Martin 1992: 8–12) in the body of the text for proper names, titles, and linguistic data, and the McCune-Reischauer (Mc-R) Romanization for the rest, with two important exceptions. Both follow current informal practice among many Korean linguists. First, we do not employ the graph ⟨q⟩ used in YR to mark reinforcement in contexts such as kal kil (YR kalq kil) [kal.k͈il] “the road to be taken”. Second, we represent the high back rounded vowel /u/ as ⟨wu⟩ in all environments. Standard YR writes only ⟨u⟩ after labial consonants."

Misc

  • Challenged Identities: North American Missionaries in Korea, 1884–1934 (2003) by Elizabeth Underwood
    • Ad-hoc, but MR leaning. "Whang Hai province", lot of ad-hoc (possibly personal preference) name spellings, with inconsistent hyphenation/spacing. One page uses "Kim Kyu-shik" and another "Kim Kyu-sik". No diacritics throughout book.
  • Historical Origins of Korean Politics (2005) by Jin Duk-kyu
    • Ad-hoc, strange mix of practice. "Sin Chae-ho", "Lee Seung-man", "Kim Ku" on the same page. Next page uses "Chosŏn", "Kkŏk-Ryong". "Tan-gun", sentence case and MR for titles of works. In general seems to lean MR, but it's not consistent. Some ad-hoc romanizations mixed in, like "Keumwa".
  • Korea: The Impossible Country (2012) by Daniel Tudor
    • Ad-hoc, leans mostly RR. Uses "Shilla" and "Koryo" in the same sentence. Hyphens in names.
  • Korean Memories and Psycho-Historical Fragmentation (2019) ed. by Mikyoung Kim
    • Depends on author; some MR, some RR.
    • One mistake: "Changgyŏngwŏn" should be "Ch'anggyŏngwŏn". Another: "Gyeong'gi province" doesn't need apostrophe.
  • Koreans in Transnational Diasporas of the Russian Far East and Manchuria, 1895–1920 (2021) by Hye Ok Park
    • Ad-hoc, rare for academic book "Therefore, I have chosen to transcribe names and words as they are pronounced in an everyday Korean language... for example, Hamgyongdo (咸鏡道) and Baik-du-san (白頭山)"
  • Korea: A New History of South and North (2023) by Victor Cha; Ramon Pacheco Pardo
    • Ad-hoc romanizations and common name. Because it covers recent South Korea, the romanizations aren't particularly surprising and often resembles what Wikipedia does.
    • "The book at hand uses something of a mishmash of different standardized Romanization techniques. For names and places that will be familiar to many readers, such as “Kim Il-sung,” “Kim Dae-jung,” and “Pyongyang,” Revised Romanization is used. For names of people and places less familiar to the casual observer, Revised Romanization is mostly employed, with some use of McCune-Reischauer Romanization"
  • Analyzing the Korean Alphabet (2025) by Hye K. Pae
    • Completely ad-hoc; capitalizes each new syllable. "GoRyeo", "PalManDaeJangGyeong", "Lee ByungDo" lol what

Books on North Korea

MR

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Diacritics? Notes
2002 From Stalin to Kim Il Sung, The Formation of North Korea, 1945-1960 Andrei Lankov Yes Yes Yes [ct]
2005 Crisis in North Korea Andrei Lankov Yes Yes Yes [cu]
2008 Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea Jae-Cheon Lim Yes Yes Yes [cv]
2013 The Real North Korea Andrei Lankov Yes Yes Yes
2015 Migration and Religion in East Asia: North Korean Migrants' Evangelical Encounters Jin-heon Jung Yes Unclear Yes [cw]
2020 Routledge Handbook of Contemporary North Korea Adrian Buzo Depends on author Unclear; likely depends on author Mostly yes [cx]
2024 The Forgotten Political Elites of North Korea: Woe to the Vanquished Fyodor Tertitskiy Yes Ad-hoc Yes [cy]
2024 North Korea’s Mundane Revolution: Socialist Living and the Rise of Kim Il Sung, 1953–1965 Andre Schmid No Yes Yes [cz]
Close

RR

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Notes
2010 North Korea's Military-Diplomatic Campaigns, 1966-2008 Narushige Michishita Space Unclear [da]
2014 North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era Bruce E. Bechtol Yes Unclear [db]
2016 The Collapse of North Korea Tara O Yes No [dc]
2020 Reading North Korea Sonia Ryang Yes
2021 Decoding the Sino-North Korean Borderlands Adam Cathcart, Christopher Green, Steven Denney Unclear Unclear [dd]
2024 Passcode to the Third Floor Thae Yong-ho (transl. by Robert Lauler) Yes Unclear [de]
2024 Millennial North Korea: Forbidden Media and Living Creatively with Surveillance Suk-Young Kim Yes Unclear [df]
Close

NKR

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Space or hyphen? Diacritics? Notes
2003 Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea Guy Delisle Hyphen No [dg]
2010 Inside the Red Box: North Korea's Post-totalitarian Politics Patrick McEachern Depends; some hyphens some spaces. No [dh]
2012 North Korean Cinema: A History Johannes Schönherr Space No [di]
2019 Inside North Korea’s Theocracy: The Rise and Sudden Fall of Jang Song-thaek Ra Jong-yil, transl. by Jinna Park Hyphen No [dj]
Close

Misc

  • North Korea in the World Economy (2003), edited by E. Kwan Choi, E. Han Kim, and Yesook Merrill
    • Depends on author. One uses a mix of NKR without diacritics and RR. On a single map, "Hamgyeong", "Jagang", "Pyeongan", "Gangwon", "Gaeseong", "Pyongyang", "Shinuiju", "Kumgang". Others difficult to tell; one uses "Kangwon" and "North Pyongan".
  • Unveiling the North Korean Economy: Collapse and Transition (2017) by Byung-Yeon Kim
    • Ad-hoc. "Hamkyungdo", "Gangwondo", "Jagangdo", "Yanggangdo". Leans RR, but still not quite there. Note "Yanggangdo" and not "Ryanggangdo".
  • A Kim Jong-Il Production (2015) by Paul Fischer
    • Ad hoc romanizations, leaning RR. Hyphens in names, second particle capitalized. Examples include "Shin Sang-Ok", "Choi Eun-Hee", and "Kim Jong-Il".
    • The preface states: "As there is no fixed style regarding spelling (Kim Jong-Il has sometimes been transliterated as Kim Chong-Il, and Choi Eun-Hee as Choe Un-Hui), I have chosen the most common spellings for all names involved. When there was any doubt, I tried to write the names in the most natural, readable way for a Western reader."
  • Soviet-North Korean Relations During the Cold War: Unruly Offspring (2023) by Fyodor Tertitskiy
    • I think this leans NKR? But it doesn't follow its rules; uses "Lee" for 리, hyphens in given names, no diacritics.
    • "Lee Phil-gyu", "Choe Chang-ik", "Pak Chang-ok"
  • North Korea's New Diplomacy: Challenging Political Isolation in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd ed. (2024) by Virginie Grzelczyk
    • Not sure. Names appear to lean NKR (spaces, no hyphen), although could just be using spellings from news articles that use NKR.
    • Uses "Chuch'e" and not NKR "Juche".
  • Rebranding North Korea: Changes in Consumer Culture and Visual Media (2025) by Immanuel Kim
    • Combination of MR, RR, and NKR. NKR for North Korean places, proper nouns, and people names. RR for South Korean (if RR is attested to being used for them) people names. Everything else MR

Books on South Korea

MR

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Diacritics? Notes
2002 Laying Claim to the Memory of May: A Look Back at the 1980 Kwangju Uprising Linda Sue Lewis Yes Yes Yes [dk]
2003 Korea's Democratization Samuel S. Kim Depends on author Difficult to tell; mostly ad-hoc romanizations Depends on author [dl]
2003 Contentious Kwangju: The May 18 Uprising in Korea's Past and Present Gi-Wook Shin and Kyung Moon Hwang Yes Yes Yes [dm]
2006 Gender and the Political Opportunities of Democratization in South Korea Nicola Anne Jones Inconsistent; likely personal preferences Unclear Yes [dn]
2007 Nation Building in South Korea: Koreans, Americans, and the Making of a Democracy Gregg Brazinsky No Yes Yes [do]
2007 The Making of Minjung: Democracy and the Politics of Representation in South Korea Namhee Lee No Yes Yes [dp]
2008 Imperial Citizens: Koreans and Race from Seoul to LA Nadia Y. Kim Unclear Unclear Yes [dq]
2012 SamulNori: Contemporary Korean Drumming and the Rebirth of Itinerant Performance Culture Nathan Hesselink No Yes Yes
2012 Park Chung-Hee: From Poverty to Power Chong-Sik Lee Yes No Yes [dr]
2015 Protest Dialectics: State Repression and South Korea's Democracy Movement, 1970-1979 Paul Y. Chang No Yes Yes
2018 The Quality of Democracy in Korea: Three Decades after Democratization Hannes B. Mosler, Eun-Jeung Lee, Hak-Jae Kim Yes No Yes [ds]
2019 Top-Down Democracy in South Korea Erik Mobrand No Yes Yes [dt]
2020 Toward Democracy: South Korean Culture and Society, 1945–1980 Hyunjoo Kim, Yerim Kim, Boduerae Kwon, Hyeryoung Lee, Theodore Jun Yoo No Yes Yes [du]
2020 Peace Corps Volunteers and the Making of Korean Studies in the United States Seung-kyung Kim, Michael Robinson, Clark W. Sorensen Leaning no, depends on author? Leaning no, depends on author? Yes [dv]
2020 Monastic Education in Korea: Teaching Monks about Buddhism in the Modern Age Uri Kaplan No Unclear Yes [dw]
2020 Korean Skilled Workers: Toward a Labor Aristocracy Hyung-A Kim Yes Yes Yes [dx]
2022 Human Rights and Transnational Democracy in South Korea Ingu Hwang Yes Yes Yes [dy]
2022 Memory Construction and the Politics of Time in Neoliberal South Korea Namhee Lee Yes Yes Yes [dz]
2024 The Dawn of War in South Korea (1947–1950) Kyu-hyun Jo No Yes Yes [ea]
2024 Late Industrialization, Tradition, and Social Change in South Korea Yong-Chool Ha No Yes Yes [eb]
Close

RR

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Author[d] Hyphen?[e] Assimilation?[b] Notes
2003 Seoul, Twentieth Century, Growth & Change of the Last 100 Years Kwang-Joong Kim Likely yes; most names use hyphen Unclear [ec]
2008 Lee Myung-bak - Korea's CEO president Robert Koehler Yes Unclear [ed]
2011 Jeju Island: Reaching to the Core of Beauty Korea Foundation Yes Unclear [ee]
2011 The Uncharted Path: An Autobiography Lee Myung-bak, transl. by Kim Ilbum Yes Unclear, likely no [ef]
2015 The Korean Economy: From a Miraculous Past to a Sustainable Future Barry Eichengreen, Wonhyuk Lim, Yung Chul Park, and Dwight H. Perkins Likely yes, although personal preferences likely reflected Unclear [eg]
2017 Globalizing Seoul: The City's Cultural and Urban Change Jieheerah Yun Space Unclear [eh]
2018 Korea’s Quest for Economic Democratization Youngmi Kim Yes Unclear [ei]
2018 The Jeju 4.3 Mass Killing: Atrocity, Justice, and Reconciliation Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation Yes Unclear, likely no [ej]
2018 South Korea at the Crossroads: Autonomy and Alliance in an Era of Rival Powers Scott A. Snyder Unclear, seems like default Unclear [ek]
2019 The Modernisation of the Republic of Korea Navy Ian Bowers Yes Unclear [el]
2019 Conscience in Action: The Autobiography of Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (translated by Jeon Seung-hee) Yes No [em]
2019 Born of This Land: My Life Story Chung Ju-yung, transl. by The Asan Institute for Policy Studies Yes Unclear, likely no [en]
2019 On the Margins of Urban South Korea: Core Location as Method and Praxis Jesook Song, Laam Hae Unclear Unclear [eo]
2020 Democratization and Democracy in South Korea, 1960–Present Hyug Baeg Im Space No [ep]
2020 Samsung Rising Geoffrey Cain Yes Unclear [eq]
2020 Transnational Korean Cinema: Cultural Politics, Film Genres, and Digital Technologies Dal Yong Jin Yes Unclear [er]
2022 Sustainable, Smart and Solidary Seoul Tony Robinson, Minsun Ji Unclear but likely Unclear [es]
2022 Redefining Multicultural Families in South Korea Minjeong Kim, Hyeyoung Woo Unclear Unclear [et]
2023 A Contemporary Portrait of Life in Korea Jibum Kim Depends on personal preference Unclear [eu]
2023 100°C: South Korea’s 1987 Democracy Movement Choi Kyu-sok (transl. by many people) Yes No [ev]
2023 Oxford Handbook of South Korean Politics Jeonghun Han, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Youngho Cho Yes Unclear [ew]
2023 Evangelizing Korean Women and Gender in the Early Modern World Susan Broomhall Unclear Unclear [ex]
2023 Calculated Nationalism in Contemporary South Korea Gil-Soo Han Yes Likely no [ey]
2024 Modernization of Korean Theatre in the 20th Century Meewon Lee No No [ez]
2024 Korean Pop Culture beyond Asia: Race and Reception David C. Oh, Benjamin Min Han Unclear Unclear [fa]
2024 Korean Art Since 1945: Challenges and Changes Youngna Kim Seems to default to hyphen Likely no [fb]
2025 The Soils of Korea Jae Yang Unclear Unclear [fc]
2025 Reimagining Korea - Identity and Values in a Changing World Yohan Yoo, Song Chong Lee Mixed practice; hyphen, space, and none Unclear [fd]
2025 Neoliberalization of South Korea Chang Kyung-Sup, Kim Se-Kyun, Keun Lee Often hyphenated Unclear [fe]
2025 Critically Capitalist: The Spirit of Asset Capitalism in South Korea Bohyeong Kim Unclear, very likely personal preference Unclear [ff]
2025 Art, War, and Exile in Modern Korea: Rethinking the Life and Work of Lee Qoede Jinyoung Anna Jin No Likely no [fg]
Close

Misc

  • Isidore: The Miracle of Jeju, Korea (2017)
    • Translated from orig Korean, ad-hoc romanizations, poor prose (possibly from the original text and not due to the translator)
  • Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop (2022) by Ramon Pacheco Pardo
    • Ad-hoc mixture of common name and ad-hoc romanizations. Because it covers recent South Korea, the romanizations aren't particularly surprising and often resembles what Wikipedia does.

Fiction

  • And So Flows History (2005) by Moo-Sook Hahn, transl. by Young-Key Kim-Renaud
    • MR, no hyphens, yes assimilation
    • Talks about how MR can obscure the generational particle in names, because of assimilation.
  • Pachinko (2017) by Min Jin Lee
    • Ad-hoc romanizations, leans a little RR

Notes

  1. [a]
    What is used to separate syllables of a two-syllable given name of a person?
  2. [b]
    Linguistic assimilation reflected in given name? E.g. 박춘례 → "Pak Ch'ullye" and not "Pak Ch'unrye"
  3. [c]
    See WP:ROMANKO#Why use the 1961 version of MR? for context and on why the 1939 version is cited.
  4. [d]
    or editor
  5. [e]
    Hyphens in given names of people?
  6. [f]
    Grayson strongly supports MR and disapproves of RR. See The New Government Romanisation System: Why Was It Necessary? (2006) and Korean Romanisation: A Response to Chris Doll (2018).
  7. [g]
    Inconsistent practices; seems to be single translator but not clear. "Kim Yu-Shin" on one page, "Kim Yu-shin" on another. "Kim Taesŏng" no hyphen, "Kim Alchi", "Kim Ch'un-ch'u". Typo lower case "shilla" on another page. "Shilla" consistently throughout; likes the "sh" for "시". Typos here and there; think not so reliable.
  8. [h]
    Pointlessly uses "Tan-Ki" (단기): "According to the McCune-Reischauer romanization, this should be spelled TanGi, but to make it easy to identify the second syllable, I have left it as 'Ki'". They're wrong; should be "tan'gi", which clears up need for the hyphen.
  9. [i]
    Actually kinda hybrid/ad-hoc. "Yi Eun", "Kojong", "Kim Ok-kyun", "Yi Pom-jin". Still leans MR, esp with monarch name.
  10. [j]
    Incorrect spelling: "hangŭl", missing the apostrophe.
  11. [k]
    Calls RR "the new system". For words that occur frequently, diacritics are only used the first time and omitted thereafter, e.g. "Koguryo".
  12. [l]
    "Kim Kyu-dong", "Kuk-jŏng". Even applies to post-1945 SK concepts. Allows for COMMONNAME and common english translations of works. Sentence case for proper nouns and titles of works. "Kyŏngbok Palace", "Kyŏngju", "Pusan".
  13. [m]
    "Yu Song-nyong", "Cholla-do", "Kim Ok-chu" (김억추)
  14. [n]
    "Yi Hyŏnggu" assimilation evidence
  15. [o]
    A little difficult to tell due to so many modern names with common spellings. Seems to be mostly MR-leaning, but some ad-hoc romanizations. "Doksu Palace", "Kim Ku", "Kojong", "Kapsan faction". "This book uses elements of the McCune-Reischauer system... The essence of the changes instituted by the Korea Times and Korea Herald is that they dropped the diacritical marks (the breve and apostrophe) used to distinguish unaspirated consonants from aspirated consonants and simple vowels from compound vowels (diphthongs), which have no easy English rendering. The Times-Herald system, of course, simplifies electronic typesetting, although Korean-capable typewriters and computers can produce McCune-Reischauer diacritical marks."
  16. [p]
    Apparent mistakes. "Choe Sŏm", "Choe Lyang", uses "Choi" in another sentence.
  17. [q]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim Yangdo". Not noticing mistakes; seems good.
  18. [r]
    "Shin Yunbok", not "Sin"
  19. [s]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim Ŏn-gyŏng", "Kim Tu-jin"
  20. [t]
    "Ŏ Yŏngtam" instead of assimilated "Ŏ Yŏngdam". Also does assimilated "Yi Pongnam". "Kim Shimin" instead of correct "Kim Simin". "In this work I have expressed Korean names using the older style of Korean Romanization rather than the new style that appears in Fortress 67: Japanese Castles in Korea. This is because much of the action of the Japanese invasions took place in what is now North Korea, where the old style is still used. It is also preferable for people’s names and is therefore consistent with most academic writing on the subject."
  21. [u]
    Lot of ad-hoc romanizations. "Kim Eung-su", "Kim Chon-son", "Kyonnaeryang".
  22. [v]
    Varying authors but seems to be consistent hyphens in names.
  23. [w]
    Linguistics book. Uses MR even for linguistics examples. Not many names contained, but my guess is she'd likely have assimilated based on her other works.
  24. [x]
    Not even use of apostrophe
  25. [y]
    "Yi Sang-do"
  26. [z]
    Claims to follow MR, but many ad-hoc romanizations. "Kim You-ji", "Roh Chung-rae", "Sin Sok-jo", "Yi Song-gye", "Yi Kye-jon", "Yi Kwi-ryong"
  27. [aa]
    Uses library of congress version (ALA-LC)
  28. [ab]
    "For the transcription of Korean I rely on the adapted McCune-Reischauer system: '시' is transcribed as 'shi'." Assimilation: "Ha Hyŏn'gang. Romanizes temple names as such: "Pongŭn-sa Temple". Also does "Paektu-san", but "Amnok River".
  29. [ac]
    Assimilation evidence: "Sin Tŏkbin", "Kim Hijip", "Kim Chŏngguk"
  30. [ad]
    Consistent and seemingly mostly correct. Optional hyphen: "Sasang kyŏn-rye"
  31. [ae]
    Uses Yale for linguistics, else MR
  32. [af]
    Assimilation: "Kim Onjo"
  33. [ag]
    "Kim Sŏng-gi", "Pak Sŏng-rae" inconsistent assimilation. Also weird "Song Min'-gu" apostrophe
  34. [ah]
    Assimilation: "Kim Sangjun", "Kim Hŭngdal"
  35. [ai]
    "Kim Wŏl-lyong" ewww wtf is this.
  36. [aj]
    "Kim Hangno" assimilation evidence. "Likewise, for the sake of practicality and recognition, I render colonial Korea’s local place names in Korean pronunciation, even though the official language at the time was Japanese."
  37. [ak]
    "Kyŏngbok Palace" and "Kwanghwa Gate"
  38. [al]
    "McCune-Reischauer (M-R) system, sometimes with slight modifications". E.g. they use "Paekje" and not "Paekche" and "Shilla", not "Silla". Lot of ad-hoc; "Kim Yu-shin", not "Kim Yu-sin". Even inconsistent; on one page "Kim Gwang-su", on another "Kim Kwang-su". Inconsistent hyphenation; "Kim Sasŏng" and "Kim Ch'ŏl-jun".
  39. [am]
    Mistake: "Cho Shik" instead of "Cho Sik"
  40. [an]
    Can't find many pre-modern people names other than monarchs. There is "Yi Sun-shin"; incorrect. "For historical periods and events, we use Romanizations based on the McCune‐Reischauer system since this system is preferred in studies of Korean history. South Korean place names are given according to their current agreed spelling in South Korea (which uses the Revised Romanization system), whereas North Korean place names follow the North Korean standard (based on the McCune–Reischauer system)"
  41. [ao]
    "Many writers simply choose a simplified version of McCune-Reischauer, omitting breves and apostrophes. For consistency and other reasons, I too have tried to present all Korean names in this simplified MR". She also emphasizes that she separates out the admin district with a hyphen instead of assimilating, but that's already recommended by the original MR paper. Possibly didn't read orig paper.
  42. [ap]
    Romanization seems pretty accurate in this on quick glance.
  43. [aq]
    Most correctly assimilated and no hyphen, but "Yi An-chŏng" should be "Yi Anjŏng". They even do "Yi Chunshin". "We have deci­ded to use the McCune­ Reischauer system, since most foreign scholars prefer that older system. However, we have deviated from the system for two surnames. The surname that should be written "Sin" according to McCune-­Reischauer is written ­here as "Shin", as in the name "Shin Hudam". That surname sounds more like the En­glish word “shin” and, besides, we thought it might be confusing in a text on Christian­ity to fail to distinguish morphologically between "sin" and "shin". We also deci­ded to write the surname that should be written "An" according to the McCune-­Reischauer system as "Ahn", in order to distinguish it from the common En­glish indefinite article "an".
  44. [ar]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim An'guk", "Yu Tŏngmu"
  45. [as]
    Presumably follows Library of Congress: "The romanization of Korean names in this volume follows the McCune-­ Reischauer system, which is the academic standard endorsed by the Library of Congress. Exceptions to this rule are a handful of names (notable filmmakers and political leaders) whose spellings are known to English-­ speaking readers". Sentence case for titles of works, title case for proper nouns (Koryŏ Yŏnghwa Hyŏp'oe)
  46. [at]
    appears to use title case for titles of works. "Ch'oe Sejin" for assimilation. "We use the McCune–Reischauer (MR) Romanization system in the body of the text for proper names and titles, and Yale Romanization (YR: see Martin 1992: 8–12) for linguistic data, with two important exceptions. Both follow current informal practice among many Korean linguists. First, we do not employ the graph ⟨q⟩ used in YR to mark reinforcement in contexts such as kal kil (YR kalq kil) [kal.k͈il] ‘the road to be taken’. Second, we represent the high back rounded vowel /u/ as ⟨wu⟩ in all environments. Standard YR writes only ⟨u⟩ after labial consonants."
  47. [au]
    Inconsistent and many mistakes
  48. [av]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim Chaegyŏng", "Yi Pyŏngnae"
  49. [aw]
    They use "Ahn Junggeun" for modern organizations and "An Chunggŭn" for An himself.
  50. [ax]
    Assimilation: "An Chŏngbok"
  51. [ay]
    Assimilation inconsistent: "Kim Yun-kyŏng" unassimilated and "Kim Hwal-lan" and "Kim Hyŏn-ju" are assimilated. Hyphens seem consistent though.
  52. [az]
    Frequent romanization mistakes
  53. [ba]
    "Yi T'oegye", "Yi Yulgok", "Yi Sŏng-gye", "Yi Pang-wŏn". Inconsistent hyphenation.
  54. [bb]
    Assimilation: "An Chŏngbok".
  55. [bc]
    "Data sources in the Japanese and Korean languages were Romanized following the Hepburn and McCune-Reischauer system... The Romanization of the names of the South Korean provinces and municipalities follows the non-McCune-Reischauer system currently used by South Korea’s local governments." Not much evidence of names being romanized. Some incorrect romanizations: "Han’gug ŭnhaeng". Possibly used the Busan converter.
  56. [bd]
    he talks about us "It may be helpful for readers to know that for the most part, English-language Wikipedia automatically converts the McCune-­Reischauer spelling of a search term—­with or without diacritical marks and apostrophes—­to the Revised Romanization of Korean spelling used in South Korea (for example, Inch’ŏn is converted to Incheon), unless the word has to do with North Korea. North Korea generally uses McCune-­Reischauer spellings, without diacritical marks or apostrophes (for example, Pyongyang instead of P’yŏngyang)."
  57. [be]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim T'aejun". "Name of Korean temples and monasteries and mountains are written as follows: for example, 'Pulguksa' to 'Pulguk Monastery'; Odaesan, Mountain Odae. 'Chan,' 'Sŏn,' and 'Zen' are used interchangeably, as are 'monastery' and 'temple.'
  58. [bf]
    Covers both North and South Korea, as well as history. Assimilation: "Kim Ch'ang-jo", "Kim Hong-do". Also uses "Kija Chosŏn".
  59. [bg]
    "The McCune-Reischauer system, used by the Library of Congress, rather than Revised Romanization, is used to romanize Korean." They don't use the Library of Congress version though; they don't hyphenate names.
  60. [bh]
    Inconsistent hyphenation: "Pak Yŏng-hyo", "Kim Ok-kyun". Evidence of no assimilation and no hyphens: "Kim Michŏng" (김미정), "Kim Hyekyŏng" (김혜경), "Kim Hŭngchip" (김흥집). Typos and hyphen: "An chung-kun". Inconsistently hyphenates a single name multiple times: "Kim Hŭngsu" on one page and "Kim Hŭng-su" on another.
  61. [bi]
    Seems solid and rigorous; not noticing incorrect romanizations.
  62. [bj]
    Various authors, but all seem to consistently do the same romanization practices. Nice.
  63. [bk]
    When covering pre-1945, uses MR. Evidence of hyphen: "Yi Yong-ik". For most South Korea topics uses RR, but even recent works are romanized using consistent MR.
  64. [bl]
    "The text translates the various levels of pre-1895 Chosŏn local administrative jurisdiction as follows, from the highest to the lowest: province (to) → regional center (mok), major defense command (taedohobu), defense command (tohobu), major county (kun), or minor county (hyŏn) → district (pang, myŏn) → subdistrict (ri) or neighborhood (tong). When used broadly, 'county' (kunhyŏn) or ‘locale’ (koŭl) refers to a regional center, major defense command, defense command, major county, or minor county. Such usage will be clear from the context. This book renders the titles of the officials heading a province or a county as 'governor' (kwanch'alsa; 2b), of which there were eight, and 'magistrate' (suryŏng, satto, wŏn), of which there were over 330. A magistrate’s rank varied depending on the type of county under his jurisdiction: regional center magistrate (moksa; 3a), major defense command magistrate (taedohobusa, pusa; 3a), defense command magistrate (tohobusa, pusa; 3b), major county magistrate (kunsu; 4b), large minor county magistrate (hyŏllyŏng; 5b), and small minor county magistrate (hyŏn’gam; 6b)." Also uses Gregorian dates consistently.
  65. [bm]
    "Baek Paeng-nyeon". Romanization mistakes; "Kim Yu-shin" instead of correct "Kim Yu-sin". "Choe Mal-li" instead of "Choe Man-li". Also "Noh Sa-sin" and "Yim Won-jun". "Kim Gweng-pil" what Surnames use common spellings, like "Kim" and "Shin"
  66. [bn]
    Assimilation: "Eoh Mong-nyong" (어몽룡); ad-hoc surname romanization. "Shilla" should be "Silla". "Shin Wi" surname conversion. "Monk Yeon-gi"; hyphen in mononym. "Kim Duryang".
  67. [bo]
    Varying practice depending on author, but consistent RR. Some hyphens, some none, some "Yu-shin", some "Yusin". One author does "Kimhae". All over the board with romanization; very messy and ad-hoc. "Bongrim temple" and not "Bongnim".
  68. [bp]
    2005 translation, orig pub date 1990
  69. [bq]
    "Choe Man-ri", "Song Cheo-geom", "Jo Geun", "Jeong Chang-son". Incorrect: "Sin Seog-jo" should be "Sin Seok-jo".
  70. [br]
    "Yi Bangja" and "Yi Bang-won" and "Yi Seong-gye". Not really many other people names. "Gyeongbokgung Palace" and "Cheonggyecheon Stream"
  71. [bs]
    Inconsistent hyphen: "Kim Suro", "Kim Chun-chu", "Yeon Jeongto". Surname conversion seems to be limited to "Gim" -> "Kim". Uses "Bak Hyeokgeose" and "Bak Je-sang".
  72. [bt]
    Surname conversions: "Park Mun-su", "Yi Seong-gye", "Kim Il-son" Title case for romanized titles of works (Joseon Wangjo Sillok). "Mt. Manisan" but not "Gyeongbokgung Palace"; just "Gyeongbokgung"
  73. [bu]
    "Kim Sahyong" isn't hyphenated, nor is "Pak Tonji". Weirdly inconsistent. "Chong Ch'ok"; why? Also typos "Gyeonbokgung" and "Chandeokgung". "I have tried to adhere to the more recent revised romanization form, but not always. For example, Kim Jeong-ho is not the most recent form, which is Gim Jeong-ho, but it is the most widely used and best-known variant. I have a very specific audience in mind for this book. It is not meant as a text for Korea experts or for historians of cartography. While I hope I have something interesting to say to both groups, the book is written very much for a general audience, with little or no facility in the Korean language, perhaps coming to an understanding of the country and of maps for the first time."
  74. [bv]
    yes surname conversions, although unclear if gotten spellings from people. Seems to be consistent RR. Strange practices for admin districts; 경상남도 → "Southern Gyeongsang Province" in body and "Gyeongsangnam-do" in photo credits. Call mountains "Mt. X", no "san"
  75. [bw]
    Some unhyphenated, some hyphens. "Yi Seong-gye" (and in another essay, "Yi Seonggye"), "Kim Ha-eung", "Gang Hui-eon", "Kim Hongdo". Strange practice on surname conversions: "Sin Gwang-ha", but "Park Gijun".
  76. [bx]
    Most hyphens, "Kim Satgat" exception. "Kim Hu-sin", "Sin Yun-bok". Not enough names to tell assimilation.
  77. [by]
    "Hong Gyeongnae" assimilated. No surname conversions other than "Yi". Incorrect: "Im Ggeokjeong", should be "Kkeokjeong"
  78. [bz]
    No surname conversions other than "Yi". Incorrect: "Im Ggeokjeong", should be "Kkeokjeong"
  79. [ca]
    No surname conversion for premodern people (i.e. they use "Yi", "Bak", but use "Park" for modern people). Mistakes in romanization; "gweolnaegaksa" instead of correct "gwollaegaksa", "Mun-shik" instead of correct "Mun-sik". Book was translated from Korean
  80. [cb]
    "Lee Geuk-ro", "Sin Myeong-gyun", "Park Hyeon-sik", "Choe Hyeon-bae", "Gwon Deok-gyu", "Kim Su-jang"
  81. [cc]
    "Jeong Do-jeon", "Yi I". Seems consistent hyphens throughout, despite multiple authors. Not many names printed though.
  82. [cd]
    Not enough Korean names printed to tell if assimilated
  83. [ce]
    "Yi Seokgyu". No surname conversion (except for I → Yi)
  84. [cf]
    "I like the McCune–Reichauer system because it makes it possible for English speakers to understand how Korean is pronounced. On the other hand, the new official system transliterates the Korean letters, rather than their sounds, into Roman letters, thus the English reader can know how a word is spelled in the Korean alphabet. Since at present the official manner of rendering Korean into the Western alphabet is used on street signs and in museums, I decided to use the official form." I disagree with this characterization; RR doesn't really transliterate Korean letters significantly more than MR does.
  85. [cg]
    "Similarly, romanization of Korean names will use the revised system officially adopted in Korea in 2000 instead of the older McCune-Reischauer system, except where names under the older system or nonstandard names are in general use in English-speaking countries." In spite of this, most romanizations are ad-hoc or MR-leaning (without diacritics) and don't follow RR. "Yi Sun-Shin", "Kim Changahm", "So Chaepil", "Yi Sung Man", "Yi Pongchang", "Yun Ponggil". Inconsistent spacing and sometimes hyphenation.
  86. [ch]
    "Yi Seon-ro" for assimilation proof. For premodern people, "Bak", "Choe", "Sin", "Gang", "Kim". "Kim Yun-kyung" incorrect; should be "Yun-gyeong".
  87. [ci]
    Doesn't explicitly mention romanization, but uses "Gyeonggi" and other RR spellings.
  88. [cj]
    No surname conversions other than "Yi"
  89. [ck]
    "Kim Gyeongrip", "Jeong Huiwon / Jeong Heewon", "Moon Eoksu", "Kang Hang", "Kim Deokbong"
  90. [cl]
    "I use the new revised romanization system [...] rather than the older McCune-Reischauer. Since the revised system has become the standard in South Korea, it is high time that professors, academic journals, and presses allow scholars and students to utilize the system each finds best and let future generations naturally decide the matter through usage (as it happened with the replacement of the Wade-Giles system of romanizing Chinese characters by the pinyin system after it became the international standard in 1982). I commend the University of Hawai‘i Press, a major venue for scholarly works on Korea, for allowing me the option." Assimilation evidence: "Yu Chungryeol", not assimilated "Chungnyeol".
  91. [cm]
    Can't find romanized people names other than monarch.
  92. [cn]
    "Kim Jaegyu" "Kim Gyusik" for no hyphen. Seems to default to none, although there's mixed practice. Covers North and South Korea. "Korean names and terms have been transliterated according to the Revised Romanization of Korean system"
  93. [co]
    Covers Joseon, colonial, and SK periods. "Jeong Yakyong", "Yi Seong-gye", "Jeong Segwon", also oddly uses Western ordering for some names like "Chung-hee Park". Also no diacritic for "Keijo". Incorrect "Yi Sung-man".
  94. [cp]
    Covers colonial period and modern SK. Some names hyphens, others not. "Obama, Barak" obvious typo. Some romanizations that clearly lean RR but are sometimes incorrect/ad-hoc. E.g. "chongshindae" or "kisaeng kwangkwang".
  95. [cq]
    Uses common spellings for some but not all surnames: Kim, Shin, but not Yi → Lee or Choe → Choi etc. For non-people, has exceptions for common name. Assimilation evidence: "Bak Gyeongni" (박경리)
  96. [cr]
    Clearly RR or RR-leaning romanizations, although not explicitly stated. "Cheongchui sipjaro", "Na Ungyu". Some ad-hoc romanizations, but possibly the personal preferences of the people or official spellings.
  97. [cs]
    Mostly ad-hoc, but clearly leaning RR. "Yi Seong-Gye", "Ryu Hyung-won", "Mokminsimseo", "Yi Iik" (no hyphen), "Lee Byeok" (surname conversion for pre-modern person), "Lee Seung-hoon", "Kwon Il-shin" (not "Gwon Il-sin")
  98. [ct]
    Uses "Yi Sŭng-man"
  99. [cu]
    Weird: "For consistency’s sake, the spelling follows the modern South Korean pattern in cases when it differs from the current North Korean spelling (e.g., Nodong sinmun, not Rodong sinmun; Yi, not Ri or Li). Consonants are shown vocalized when between vowels, but not at the beginning of words (a surname and a given name are treated as two different words)."
  100. [cv]
    "Kim Ch'ang-bong", "Hŏ Pong-hak", "chuch'e", "Kim Hyŏng-jik".
  101. [cw]
    MR with common spelling exceptions. "I use Juche instead of Chuch’e ... as it appears in North Korean official documents and websites." Inconsistent practice: "Yi Sŭngman", "Yi Man-yol", "Yi Mahn-yol". Some incorrect romanizations: "Kim Min-sŏk, “Migŭgi molgo-on Yi Woong-pyŏng daeryŏng pyŏlse”"
  102. [cx]
    "Ri Hyŏk-min" is not assimilated, nor is "Kim Sam-pok". Another author assimilated and doesn't use hyphens; "Kim Tonggyu", "Ch'oe Yonggŏn". One author uses ad-hoc romanizations, but MR leaning. "Oeguk Muryok Kansopkwa Kuknae Conjang Sigie Issoosoui Kongsan Tang"
  103. [cy]
    Ad-hoc modification to MR. "As it predominantly consists of biographies, the author has chosen a revised subvariant of the McCune-Reischauer system that also accurately captures the proper pronunciation of inter-vocal consonants within words, including personal names. In this subvariation, for instance, “minju” replaces 'minchu' and 'Kim Jŏng-il' – 'Kim Chŏng-il'." Some assimilations, some not. "Kim Du-bong", "Pak Yŏng-bin", "Kim Gwang-jin", "Pak Chŏng-ae", "Pak Pyŏng-yul".
  104. [cz]
    Assimilation evidence: "Chu Hyŏngdo". "The romanization of modern Korean is the subject of much acrimony, due to the politics of colonialism and national division. I choose not to use the romanization system developed by the South Korean Ministry of Education for a book about North Korea and instead follow another, still not controversy-free romanization system known as the McCune–Reischauer system... Whenever possible, I try not to convert North Korean orthography to southern practice; employ North Korean usage; and follow official North Korean translations of terms into English when they are available."
  105. [da]
    Mix of RR (reversible form) and NKR. Spaces in names for both South and North Koreans. "Generally, I used the 'New Romanization System,' released in July 2000 by the ROK Ministry of Culture and Tourism... However, in order to enable the readers to easily identify the precise spelling of the original Korean words, I made one adjustment to the system. Instead of reflecting irregular sound changes (when pronounced) on the spelling, I decided to simply use one English character for a specific Korean character... This rule applies to the case where the consonant appears as the last letter in a word. For example, the word meaning South Korea (한국) is spelled as 'Hangug.' Other exceptions are as follows. For North Korean first and family names, I used Radiopress, Chousen Minshushugi Jinminkyouwakoku Soshikibetsu Jin meiroku (North Korea Directory) (Tokyo: Radiopuresu, various years), which followed the official North Korean transliteration system."
  106. [db]
    "Any South Korean government sources that were used before 2002 will be under the old [MR system], sources after that will be under the new [RR system], and non-government sources from South Korea may have used various different systems for transliteration. I will use the new system for the most part in this work. Thus, when quoting sources using the new system, I will quote them exactly as written. When quoting sources that use a different system, I will also quote them exactly as written." "O Kuk-ryol", "Kim Kwan-jin", "Kim Kyok-sik", "Kim Yong-chol"
  107. [dc]
    Ad-hoc examples: "Jooyo Gookbyeol Soochool Ib-ag", "Eungoo 7 Inbang Buk U Dong Cheuk Jinanhae Jasal", "Bookhan Sookchung-ui Yeogsa". "Korean names and spellings follow the latest South Korean government convention in this study. For instance, in this research, the former South Korean president’s name is spelled “Park Chung-hee.” Previously “Park Chung Hee” was also used. The use of hyphenation and lower case after the hyphenation in “Chung-hee” is the new convention. If the latter style (Chung Hee) is used, then the person published documents using that style, and that style is usually found in the endnotes or bibliography. Kim is the last name and is placed first, consistent with Korean practice. For instance, Kim Jong-il’s last name is Kim and is placed before Jong-il. Kim Jong-un is also spelled Kim Jong-eun; the latter is based on the South Korean government’s new convention... Additionally, some place-name spellings are different. The old method uses Kaesong, Keumgang, Inchon, and Pusan, for example. The new way uses Gaesong, Geumgang, Incheon, and Busan, respectively." If RR were strictly applied, there'd be no hyphens in names. Also, there's a lot of ad-hoc romanizations; think understanding of RR is poor.
  108. [dd]
    Anthology; messy romanizations. Each author seems to do different but most clearly prefer RR for historical topics and romanizing titles of works. One even uses "Minju Joseon" for a North Korean publication. One even uses "Joseon Ilbo". Decent chunk of ad-hoc romanizations. One bizarrely mixes MR surnames with RR names; "Pak Ji-won" should be "Bak Ji-won" in RR.
  109. [de]
    Even for NK topics.
  110. [df]
    "For transliteration of Korean words, I consistently use the official Korean language Romanization system, also referred to as the Revised Romanization of Korean, released by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2000."
  111. [dg]
    A non-fiction graphic novel. Spellings resemble NKR. It uses spellings such as "Kim Il-Sung/Il-sung", "Koryo", "Potonggang", and "Yangakkdo". Because of the small caps typeface used, it is unclear if the second particles of given names are capitalized or not.
  112. [dh]
    Major names have spaces in them, I think minor names tend to have hyphens? Romanizations seem to consistently lean NKR. Here's one instance of hyphen: "Pak Chae-kyo'ng". Is the apostrophe here supposed to be a breve? "Minju joson", "Nodong Sinmun", "Pak In-chol", "Pak Rim-su", "Pak Sang-chol". "Pak Chae-kyong" is this the same person as earlier? Strange.
  113. [di]
    "North Korea has been using its own simplified system of McCune-Reischauer for decades. In this book, the North Korean transcription is used for all North Korean names and place names, e.g., Kim Il Sung." But for some reason uses RR-like romanizations in the appendix? "Tto tashi jeonseoneuro", "Doraji kkot", "Sea" for 새 lol... In body, "Yun Ryong Gyu", "Li Gi Song", "Pak Dae Sik", "Ham Un Bong", "Kim Jae Ho", "Li Jong Ryol" I don't know enough about NKR; think some of thse are wrong? The appendix romanizations are a mess; really clearly incorrect and contradictory.
  114. [dj]
    Seems to lean consistently NKR, although uncertain. Some possible ad-hoc or personal preference: "Choe Bong-man", "Chon Byong-ho", "Chung Dong-young".
  115. [dk]
    "I employ the McCune–Reischauer system of romanization for Korean except for words or names that have a divergent orthography". "Kim Pong-man", "Kim Yong-dae", "Im Ch'ung-nak" for assimilation evidence
  116. [dl]
    Most names are likely attempted COMMONNAME spellings for modern South Koreans, difficult to tell diacritics or hyphenation practices. However, clear effort to use MR in all essays. Most essays don't use diacritics, e.g. "Cholla" and "Kyongsang". One author uses the circumflex instead of the correct breve. Some ad-hoc/incorrect romanizations; one author uses "Chosun Dynasty" instead of correct "Chosŏn" or without diacritic "Choson".
  117. [dm]
    Maybe one or two names not hyphenated, but almost all are. "Kim Hwaŏng" not hyphenated. "Kim Chae-gyu", "Kim Chun-bong" assimilated. Consistently uses MR place names, like "Kwangju" and "Pusan".
  118. [dn]
    Uses MR for terms like "chaebŏl", "Tonghak", "Minbyŏn". Also uses "minbon juŭi", but should be "minbon chuŭi" with that spacing. Provinces also MR: "Cholla". Ad-hoc: "Taegu-Kyungbuk"
  119. [do]
    Decent romanization; not many mistakes. Kind of mistake here, due to funky spacing/assimilation: "Chwadamhŏe: Nohan saja dŭl ŭi chungŏn".
  120. [dp]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim Min'gi".
  121. [dq]
    Book is about Korean Americans and South Koreans; put here cause diaspora category likely small enough and heavily related to SK. Most names given are current people with known spellings, so hard to tell practice. "hangŭl" incorrect; should be "han'gŭl".
  122. [dr]
    He makes romanization and translation mistakes relatively frequently; in the appendix he makes an effort to explain RR but gets it incorrect, claims Park Chung Hee's name would be romanized "Bag Jeong Hee"; clearly incorrect compared to the preferred "Bak Jeonghui" and less desired "Bak Jeong-hui"
  123. [ds]
    Depends on author, but most consistent MR. Not many names attested to. Once glossees "Kim Dae-jung" with "Kim Tae-chung" for MR followed by "Tong-wŏn Im"; implies hyphen and no assimilation. One author seems to use RR: "Minjujuuiui minjuhaw: Hanguk minjujuuiui byeonhyeonggaw hegemoni" typos and incorrect romanizations.
  124. [dt]
    "Pusan", etc. "Chang Myŏn", "Cheju Island", "Chang T'aeksang", "Ch'oe Sunsil". Consistent except for some overwhelmingly common spellings.
  125. [du]
    Mostly consistent no hyphens, one author (Kim Jung Han) is inconsistent: "Kim Hyŏn-jang" and "Kim Chongt'ae" in their essay
  126. [dv]
    Mixed practice; I haven't chekced but I think depends on author. "Kim T'aek-kyu", "Kim T'akhwan", "Kim Tongni"
  127. [dw]
    Not enough names printed for assimilation. "Yi Nŭnghwa", temple names consistent MR.
  128. [dx]
    Assimilation: "Yi Sang-bŏm". "Yi Kab-yong" possibly an ad-hoc. Even SK entities like "Hyondae Kurup Nodongjohap Hyŏbŭihoe" receive MR treatment, although clear mistakes there. "Maeil Kyŏngje".
  129. [dy]
    Uses the Library of Congress (ALA-LC; LOC) version.
  130. [dz]
    Assimilation evidence: "Kim Chŏng-nyŏm" for 김종렴.
  131. [ea]
    Lot of ad-hoc, but clearly trying for MR. "Kungminŭihoe esŏ Yi Sŭngmankwa Kim Kooka Namchosŏn Ch'ongsŏn e ŭihan Chŏngpu Surip Ch'okku,” Chosŏn Ilpo". Incorrect romanizations in various places in this.
  132. [eb]
    Lot of personal preference romanizations, but clearly defaults to MR without hyphens for others. Other proper nouns use MR, like "Kyŏnggi".
  133. [ec]
    Various authors; practice probably differs by author. Some ad-hoc romanizations, like "Hamgyungbuk Do province", "Gyeongseong Bu", "Youngdeungpo", "Shindang", "Cheongryangri", and "Yongdeungpo" on same page lol... Clear leaning to RR. Some excessive hyphenation: "Do-si-gye-hoek-jo-sa-bo-go-seo".
  134. [ed]
    Likely mix of ad-hoc/personal preference/RR. Uses "Sang-gyeong" for Lee's childhood name. His dad is "Lee Chung-woo". Really short book, nothing surprising or overtly incorrect in terms of romanization in it.
  135. [ee]
    Ad-hoc: "Woo-am", also hyphens in art names. "Chu-sa" for Kim Jeong-hui. In another section (possibly different author), says 1862 "Kang Je Geom Rebellion, 1898 Bang Seong Chil Rebellion, and the 1901 Lee Jae Su Rebellion". No hyphens.
  136. [ef]
    Names consistently hyphen, often romanized ad-hoc. While never states romanization system clearly, uses spellings like "Jongno" and "Cheonggyecheon".
  137. [eg]
    Prints RR's description in its entirety in the appendix lol
  138. [eh]
    Spaces in names; "Kim Ok Gyun", "Kim Soo Guen" on one page and "Kim Soo Keun" on another. Bizarrely sometimes uses MR; "Susŏnjŏndo" drawn by "Jŏngho Kim"; the latter term is not romanized correctly per MR.
  139. [ei]
    "In rendering the Korean language in the Latin script, we use the Revised Romanization of Korean approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Korea in 2000. However, when historical material is presented the McCune-Reischauer system is also used." Overall mostly RR, some MR. MR sometimes used for modern publication names.
  140. [ej]
    Some MR depending on author, but seems to be largely RR. "Kim Ik-ryeol" for non assimilation evidence. Vast majority of names have hyphen; no hyphens likely reflected of personal pref or common practice. "The basic format for the romanization follows the current Korean Romanization Policy in expressing proper nouns such as names of important people, organizations, and regions in Korean. However, the publication basically respects the original text of contributors thus reflecting their preference in using McCune-Reischauer Romanization, as well. For example, in case of Jeju-do (Jeju Island), an island where the incident happened, we had used both Jeju (Korean Romanization Policy) and Cheju (McCune-Reischauer Romanization) in respect of the contributors."
  141. [ek]
    Not a lot of names. Uses terms like "Yeonpyeong". "Yun Byung-se", "Yon Hyung-muk", "Chung Dong-young".
  142. [el]
    Says in intro will use RR (calls it "Revised Romanization") except for cases of COMMONNAME. Almost all names seem to have hyphens in them. Assimilation unclear; not enough names and lot of ad-hoc romanizations (likely personal preference or common spellings).
  143. [em]
    Possible ad-hoc romanizations, but mostly clearly leaning RR. "Yang Soon-jik", "Kim Jung-re", "Kang Yong-hun", "Myeonuhoi", "Rhee Syngman".
  144. [en]
    Names ad-hoc, but terms like "seodang" are RR. Names consistently hyphen.
  145. [eo]
    "We would like to note that we have followed the National Institute of Korean Language's guide for the romanization system for the English transliteration of Korean, which was established on July in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism."
  146. [ep]
    Doesn't explicitly say using RR, but clearly inspired by it. Still injects a lot of ad-hoc romanizations: "Hankookeui Gyegeupgwa Bulpyungdeung", "Byungjugo Yakjuneun Lee Myung Bak Jungbu", "Saesesang Youngu".
  147. [eq]
    Lot of romanizations that are ad-hoc, but consistently RR leaning. Many are likely personal romanizations; difficult to tell what is intended to be systematic or not.
  148. [er]
    Defaults to RR, "Joseon". Varying practices and some ad-hoc names; possilikely personal preferences. My sense is defaults to hyphen.
  149. [es]
    Unsurprising romanizations largely. Not enough names printed to determine name practices. One incorrect sentence case and no hyphen: "mapogu".
  150. [et]
    Lot of personal preference spellings. Other terms default to RR though.
  151. [eu]
    Personal preference, largely, with some ad-hoc. E.g. "Choongchung". Lot of authors, so varied practice. Some other incorrect romanizations.
  152. [ev]
    Really bizarre; some names have the breve over them despite being in RR. "Yi Do-yeŏng", "Kim Yeŏng-hwan". One inconsistent hyphen: "Yi Hanyeol" on one page, "Yi Han-yeol" on another.
  153. [ew]
    In intro chapter, explicitly says "Revised Romanization".
  154. [ex]
    Not enough names printed. "This work adopts the revised romanization conventions developed by the National Academy of Korean Language."
  155. [ey]
    In general capitalizes second particle after hyphen. "I have used the revised Romanization for Korean names and words."
  156. [ez]
    Says it uses RR. It capitalizes the second particle: "Yun BaekNam", "Kim UnJeong", also some ad-hoc romanizations like "Kim YoungIl ui Sa"
  157. [fa]
    Many likely personal preference spellings; not many names to determine practice. Also likely varies by author.
  158. [fb]
    Many names are known personal spellings. Some other spellings like "Mun Seok-o" and "Lee Guk-jeon" seem to be default romanizations. I suspect assimilation; "Seo Seong-rok". "Korean terms in this book have been romanized according to the system adopted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Korean in July 2000"
  159. [fc]
    Romanized names likely personal preference. Practices vary by author. One author uses lots of ad-hoc spellings: "Gyodong-Ri, Sangju-Eub, Sangju-Gun, Gyeongsangbug-Do".
  160. [fd]
    Mixed practice; likely taking known spellings from people themselves. Other words are generally in RR. Romanized title: "Kim Geum-hwa eui Mugajip: Gomunattae Mansin, Huina Baeksong eui Norae"
  161. [fe]
    Mostly common/personal preference spellings. Most names are hyphenated, like "Park Chung-hee".
  162. [ff]
    Clear it's RR because terms are romanized using it, but otherwise most terms are common spellings.
  163. [fg]
    Not sure about assimilations; likely no because "Kim Changryeol" is not assimilated. Surname conversions. "Lee Yeoseong", "Kim Wonbong", "Kim Yaksu". Decent amount of mistakes, but not too many. "Yun Hyeonkyo" should be "Hyeongyo". "Yi Cheolyi" should be "Cheoli". "Pak Yeon" should be "Bak Yeon". "For all references to and mentions of places and people in Korean, this book uses the Revised Romanization of Korean".

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI