OK, I know Kim Il Sung was the father of Kim Jong Il who in turn was the father of Kim Jong Un. Here’s what isn’t immediately obvious, at least to me. The Kim part is the family name, right? Handed down by the father? But I can’t figure the other elements.
I tried consulting the wiki on Korean names which says that the family name comes first (right, that explains Kim) and the given name second, given names being traditionally of one syllable. Still having difficulty even after reading the whole wiki (which is very detailed).
Applying what it says there I guess Il Sung, Jong Il, and Jong Un are given names. But that’s two syllables in each case rather than one and why would the last two have almost the same given name. Is it like John Kim I and John Kim II or something? And what about the Il element in the first two? Why the changed position?
I’m not Korean, but my ex-wife is. And all the women in her generation in her family all had names that started with the syllable Yoo. Her brother and all the other men in the same generation had names that started with the syllable Ho. Except for one cousin whose parents screwed up or something and the SECOND syllable in his name was “Ho”. My brother-in-law said that guy got made fun of a lot when they were kids.
Is Il Sung then a given name and Jong Il another one which also has an Il by sheer coincidence, with Jong Il and Jong Un also having Jong in them because Kim Jong Il liked the name and also gave it to his son? Looking at Kim Jong Il’s other kids I see Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Chul (sons) and Kim Yo Jong and Kim Sul Song (daughters). Where did the Jong go with the last one, it seems to have vanished to the same place that Sung went with Kim Il Sung.
I’m not aware of any correlation between father’s names and son’s name. I only have one family that I have experience with though, and my father-in-law’s given name was not related in any way to his son’s given name.
Maybe the NK Kim’s decided to carry on one syllable of the father’s name to the son? Not necessarily the same one each time? And maybe they picked a different one for the women’s names?
As I understand it, they just have given names that are two syllables.
But as I said, I’m not Korean, but spent 10 years with and married to a Korean woman and asked a lot of questions and got a lot of info. But if an actual Korean person has different answers, probably better to listen to them
This site has some good information. Basically, everyone of the same generation has the same first part of the given name. Where generation means how many levels you are relative to the original clan founder, not what date you happen to be born in.
I think the distinction between “one given name of two syllables” and “two single-syllable given names” is one that isn’t really important to the traditional Chinese naming system, which is what the Korean system seems to follow. As a westerner I think you’re looking for a level of clarity that doesn’t exist.
Great link! And what a fascinating rundown of the Korean naming system. A little more complex than Joe Blow! Thank you, John Mace, that tells me everything I wanted to know.
