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Korean Name Romanizer

Convert Korean names from Hangul to Romanized English using the Revised Romanization of Korean (2000). Works entirely in your browser.

Converter
Presets:

文化観光部2000年式

Syllable Breakdown

How to Use

  1. 1
    Enter the Korean name

    Type or paste the Hangul name into the input field above. You can enter a full name or a single syllable.

  2. 2
    See the Romanized result

    The tool instantly converts each Hangul syllable into its Revised Romanization equivalent using Unicode decomposition.

  3. 3
    Review the syllable breakdown

    Each syllable is decomposed into initial consonant, medial vowel, and optional final consonant (jamo) with their corresponding Romanized forms.

About

Korean names are written in Hangul, a featural writing system invented in 1443 by King Sejong the Great. Each Hangul syllable block is composed of two or three jamo (letters): an initial consonant, a medial vowel, and an optional final consonant. For example, the syllable 한 (han) consists of ㅎ (h) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n).

The Revised Romanization of Korean, adopted by the South Korean government in 2000, is the most widely used system for writing Korean in the Latin alphabet. It replaced the older McCune-Reischauer system for official use and is now standard for road signs, textbooks, and passports. Unlike McCune-Reischauer, it does not use diacritics or apostrophes, making it more practical for digital use.

This tool decomposes each Hangul syllable using Unicode math. Every Hangul syllable block in Unicode occupies a contiguous range from U+AC00 to U+D7A3. The codepoint offset is calculated as (initial × 21 + medial) × 28 + final, allowing precise extraction of each jamo component. The result is a faithful Revised Romanization of the input text.

Korean personal names typically consist of a one-syllable surname followed by a two-syllable given name. Common surnames like Kim (김), Lee (이), and Park (박) are well known internationally. Given names often draw meaning from Sino-Korean characters (hanja), and parents choose them to convey aspirations for the child's future.

FAQ

What is Revised Romanization?
The Revised Romanization of Korean (RR) is the official system adopted by the South Korean government in 2000 to represent Korean in the Latin alphabet. It replaced the McCune-Reischauer system for official purposes. RR avoids diacritics and apostrophes, making it simpler for digital text.
How does Hangul syllable decomposition work?
Each Hangul syllable occupies a single Unicode code point between U+AC00 and U+D7A3. By subtracting U+AC00 from the code point, you get an offset that can be decomposed using the formula: initial = offset / (21 × 28), medial = (offset % (21 × 28)) / 28, final = offset % 28.
Is this tool accurate for passport names?
This tool produces standard Revised Romanization. However, Korean passports may use variant spellings based on personal preference or older systems (e.g., 'Park' instead of 'Bak' for 박, or 'Lee' instead of 'I' for 이). The Korean government allows individual choice for surname romanization on passports.
What is the difference between Revised Romanization and McCune-Reischauer?
McCune-Reischauer (MR), developed in 1937, uses diacritics (breves) and apostrophes to distinguish aspirated consonants. Revised Romanization (RR), adopted in 2000, eliminates these marks entirely and uses different letter combinations instead. RR is now the South Korean government standard.
Can I romanize non-name Korean text?
Yes. This tool romanizes any Hangul text, not just names. It performs character-by-character conversion. Note that it does not apply inter-syllable phonological rules (such as nasalization or assimilation) that would affect pronunciation in connected speech.