English Names for Koreans : Why ? On many occasions you have to tell others your name, nationality and other similar questions several times, especially when you뭨e in abroad. We all know that each nation has its uniqueness in the way the people look, the language they speak, their culture and many more. It뭗 be very unfortunate if some people start feeling proud of being what they are not. People living in one region, broadly in one country, have unique character, language, pronunciation along with accent, and their names which might be the most important feature of recognizing them even among the same nationals. Today, English names are very popular and common in Korea. In fact, most young people have an English name or at least a Korean version of an English name. So, when we think about it, it is no wonder that English names are so popular today, when we are influenced by so many other things in so many different ways from different countries. The greatest advantage of using English names is of course that it is very convenient. Some Korean names are quite difficult to pronounce if you are not a native Korean. Thus, when you go abroad, your name always causes lots of trouble and embarrassment, both to you and to other people. You always have to spell your name, and nobody can pronounce your name correctly. If you have an English name, problems like this may not occur. I never met any Korean before I came to Korea so whatever I knew about Korea was what I learned from school and some literary books. I could feel that Koreans, like any other nationals, are proud of being what they are and they love their country and cultural heritage more than anything. I was right in my perception and imagination. I, like other foreigners, had problems in memorizing Korean names since I never had a Korean friend, not even a pen pal. So I had to say "Excuse me, I am sorry but I don뭪 remember your �." several times. It is embarrassing also that you know a person by face but don뭪 remember his or her name. At that time I determined to remember their names and pronounce them in the best possible way that I could. After the resolution of memorizing their names, I found that my Korean friends were amused to learn that I could remember their names perfectly. They filled me with compliments like my Korean pronunciation was perfect. Was that really worth of with that kind of compliments ? This was what the older friends said to me. How about the young friends ? They always said, "Which name you want to know, English or Korean?" I couldn뭪 understand why did they use "English" name? Of course, my name was also difficult for them to pronounce and remember. So I told them my nick as San (abbreviated form of Sanjeev), then they asked me whether that뭩 my English name? I told them that I didn뭪 have an English name. The very next question they asked me was "In India, don뭪 you have an English name?". This question raffled my feathers. I questioned to myself , "Why should I have an English name? I am not an English man so why did they ask me about my english name?" I was speechless at that time. That question puzzled me for a long time. The most interesting thing was that most of them used to say "My American name is�." I always wondered and to satiate my curiosity, I asked them whether they were born in America or had the American citizenship. Their reply made me to wonder much more than what had happened so far. "If you뭨e neither born in USA nor have a citizenship of that country then why do you say that my American name is� ?" I asked them. Of course, their opinion was single voiced "You know many Americans can뭪 remember the Korean names so in our classes, the English teacher, usually American or other native speaker (mostly from north America), assigns an English name or so called an American name. Their explanation made me go crazy. Why can뭪 they (English teachers) remember the Korean names of their students ? Well, in this argument of keeping two names i.e. Korean and English or American , I would like to ask a simple question to those native speakers whether they also have Korean names? If they believe that a Korean name is difficult to memorize, so does an American name for Koreans. If Koreans can remember their names, in the similar fashion, Americans should also try to memorize Korean names of their students instead of awarding them with an American name. They must realize that name is an important national heritage. Just imagine, the president of Korea introduces, in an international gathering, that his Korean name is Kim Dae-jung and American name is 꿂linton, what will be the identity of Korea as a sovereign state ? It is no wonder that Koreans have so much contact with English speaking countries, especially USA and are influenced and inspired by those countries in many different ways. However, although it is more convenient and sometimes also nicer to have an English name, they should try not to forget their native names. Many of them are very beautiful, fascinating and special, too. Many Koreans think it is more convenient to use English names. But I think it would be a pity if the Korean names would totally disappear, as there often are very fascinating stories behind the Korean names. Also, the Korean names are actually a part of the history and culture of Korea, and should therefore be preserved in the future. Do you agree with me?^^ So,pls use your Korean names more often with the foreigners also so that they understand Korea and Korean language also^^. :)