How Korean Romanization Works, and Why It's Jongno, Not Jongro

If you have ever wondered why the Seoul district 종로 is signposted as Jongno, why 신라 is Silla, or why Korean words seem to be spelled differently in different places, the answer is Korea's official romanization system. It is published by the government and maintained by the National Institute of Korean Language (NIKL). The current text is Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Notice No. 2014-42, in force since December 5, 2014, a partial amendment of the system issued in 2000 (Notice No. 2000-8). The system before that dated from 1984.

1. Rule one: write what you hear, not what is spelled

The very first principle is that romanization follows standard Korean pronunciation. It does not copy the Hangul spelling letter by letter. The second principle is to avoid symbols other than Roman letters as far as possible, which is why there are no apostrophes or accent marks.

That first rule explains most surprises. When the sounds change in speech, the romanization changes with them. The NIKL lists these official examples:

So "Jongro" is not the official spelling, because 종로 is pronounced [종노].

There are deliberate limits. Tense sounds that appear when two parts of a compound join are not written. The official examples include 압구정 as Apgujeong, not "Apkkujeong," and 낙동강 as Nakdonggang. And in nouns where ㅎ follows ㄱ, ㄷ, or ㅂ, the aspiration is not shown: 묵호 is Mukho and 집현전 is Jiphyeonjeon.

2. Vowels: the two-letter ones

Most simple vowels map to one letter, but a few need two. The official table:

The NIKL notes that ㅢ is always written ui, even when it is pronounced like ㅣ, as in 광희문, Gwanghuimun. Long vowels are not marked.

3. When ㄱ is g and when it is k

Three consonants, ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ, each have two romanizations. The rule is about position:

• Before a vowel: g, d, b. Examples: 구미 Gumi, 영동 Yeongdong, 백암 Baegam.
• Before another consonant or at the end of a word: k, t, p. Examples: 옥천 Okcheon, 합덕 Hapdeok, 호법 Hobeop.

Because romanization follows pronunciation, words whose final consonant is pronounced differently from its spelling follow the sound. The official examples are 벚꽃 [벋꼳] as beotkkot and 한밭 [한받] as Hanbat.

ㄹ works the same way: r before a vowel, l before a consonant or at the end, and ll for a double ㄹ. Examples: 구리 Guri, 설악 Seorak, 칠곡 Chilgok, 울릉 Ulleung, and 대관령 [대괄령] Daegwallyeong.

4. Hyphens: only when needed

A hyphen may be used when a word could be read two ways. The official examples:

• 중앙 Jung-ang, so it is not read as "Jun-gang"
• 반구대 Ban-gudae
• 해운대 Hae-undae

5. Names of people

Personal names are written family name first, then a space, then the given name. The syllables of the given name are normally written together, though a hyphen is allowed: 민용하 is Min Yongha, or Min Yong-ha. Sound changes between syllables of a given name are not reflected, so 한복남 is Han Boknam, not "Han Bongnam."

The rules also allow personal names, company names, and organization names to keep spellings they have long used. That is why you will see many familiar names that do not match the system exactly.

6. Places and addresses

Administrative units are written as separate pieces with a hyphen: do, si, gun, gu, eup, myeon, ri, dong, ga. Examples include 제주도 Jeju-do, 도봉구 Dobong-gu, and 당산동 Dangsan-dong. Sound changes across the hyphen are not shown, and si, gun, and eup may be dropped.

Names of natural features, cultural properties, and structures may be written without a hyphen: 남산 Namsan, 경복궁 Gyeongbokgung, 불국사 Bulguksa, 독립문 Dongnimmun.

Proper names start with a capital letter: 부산 Busan, 세종 Sejong.

7. A second mode for academic use

There is one exception to the pronunciation rule. When romanized text must be converted back into Hangul exactly, as in academic writing, the system romanizes the spelling instead. In that mode ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, and ㄹ are always g, d, b, and l, and a silent ㅇ becomes a hyphen. The official examples include 값 as gabs and 없었습니다 as eobs-eoss-seubnida. You will rarely see this outside research papers.

8. Key takeaways

• Korean romanization follows pronunciation, so 종로 is Jongno and 신라 is Silla.
• ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ are g, d, b before a vowel and k, t, p before a consonant or at the end.
• ㄹ is r before a vowel and l elsewhere; ㄹㄹ is ll.
• Names are family name first: Min Yongha, with an optional hyphen in the given name.
• Hyphens separate units like -do and -gu, and clear up ambiguous words like Jung-ang.