1. Background — Why Was It Reformed in 2000?
Before July 2000, Korean romanization was based on a modified McCune–Reischauer (MR) system with diacritical marks like ö, ŭ, and apostrophes — impractical for the internet and passports. On July 7, 2000, Ministry of Culture Notification No. 2000-8 introduced the current system, replacing all diacritics with digraphs like eo and eu.
2. Consonant Rules
| Hangul | Word-initial / Before vowel | Before consonant / Word-final |
|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g | k |
| ㄷ | d | t |
| ㅂ | b | p |
| ㅈ | j | t |
| ㅋ·ㅌ·ㅍ·ㅊ | k · t · p · ch | |
| ㄲ·ㄸ·ㅃ·ㅆ·ㅉ | kk · tt · pp · ss · jj | |
| ㄴ | n | |
| ㄹ | r (before vowel) / l (before consonant or final) | |
| ㅇ | not written (final position: ng) | |
| ㅎ | h | |
The biggest change from MR: ㄱ·ㄷ·ㅂ·ㅈ are now written as g·d·b·j at the start of words (MR used k·t·p·ch).
3. Vowel Rules
| Vowel | Romanization |
|---|---|
| ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ | a · eo · o · u · eu · i |
| ㅐ ㅔ ㅚ | ae · e · oe |
| ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ | ya · yeo · yo · yu |
| ㅒ ㅖ | yae · ye |
| ㅘ ㅙ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ | wa · wae · wo · we · wi · ui |
Writing ㅓ as eo is the hallmark of the 2000 system. "서울" → Seoul, "대전" → Daejeon.
4. Personal Name Rules (Chapter 3, Article 4)
Personal names are written surname first, then given name, separated by a space. Given names are written without spaces as the default; a hyphen between syllables is permitted.
Sound changes within given names are not reflected in the romanization.
Example: 한복남 → Han Boknam or Han Bok-nam. The ㄱ-ㄴ sequence is pronounced as [ŋn] but written as bok + nam.
Surnames have a separate clause: their romanization is "determined separately," which led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to publish surname romanization guidelines in 2001 and 2011 — officially recognizing Kim, Lee, Park, Choi, Jeong, etc. as accepted variants.
5. Why Kim/Lee Instead of Gim/I?
Strictly applying the 2000 system: 김 → Gim, 이 → I, 박 → Bak, 최 → Choe. However, Koreans have used Kim·Lee·Park·Choi for over a century in international contexts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly recognizes the right to keep existing romanizations, and this site recommends the most widely used conventional spellings as the default.
6. Passport Name Decision Checklist
- Match family members: Use the same surname spelling as your parents and siblings. Mixing Kim (father) and Gim (child) complicates family relationship verification.
- Consistency with existing records: Match your university degree, overseas bank accounts, and credit cards.
- Pronounceability: Conventional spellings (Kwak, Wook, Woong) may be easier for English speakers than strict forms (Gwak, Uk, Ung).
- Avoid unintended meanings: Some syllable combinations have awkward meanings in English (Bum, Suk, Gun alone) — consider the full name combination.
- Changes are restricted: After first issuance, changes are only allowed for correction of errors or very limited reasons. Choose carefully from the start.
7. Legal Sources
- Ministry of Culture Notification No. 2000-8 — Korean Romanization Rules (promulgated 2000-07-07)
- Passport Act Enforcement Decree, Article 3-2 — Method for entering English names in passports
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs passport guidance · passport.go.kr
- National Institute of Korean Language romanization search · korean.go.kr
This guide is for reference only. For actual passport issuance, follow the official guidance at your local passport office.