Soshi-kaimei

Soshi-kaimei (창씨개명/創氏改名, literally 'create a surname and change a given name') was a policy implemented by the Japanese colonial government in Korea beginning on February 11, 1940, that compelled Koreans to adopt Japanese-style names. The policy had two components: soshi (창씨/創氏), which required the creation of a Japanese-style family name (氏/shi), and kaimei (개명/改名), which encouraged changing given names to Japanese readings or entirely Japanese names. While the colonial government officially characterized it as 'voluntary,' intense social and administrative pressure made compliance effectively mandatory.

Cultural Devastation

The policy struck at the heart of Korean identity. The Korean naming system — with its surnames, bon-gwan, jokbo, and dollimja — was not merely a way of identifying individuals but a living connection to centuries of ancestral heritage. Forcing Koreans to abandon these names was understood as an attempt to erase Korean cultural identity and assimilate the Korean people into the Japanese empire. By the policy's deadline in August 1940, approximately 80% of Korean households had registered Japanese-style names, though many did so under duress. Some families chose Japanese names that phonetically echoed their Korean names or contained hidden Korean meanings as acts of quiet resistance.

Legacy and Restoration

After Korea's liberation on August 15, 1945, one of the first acts of cultural restoration was the immediate reversion to Korean names. The trauma of this period profoundly influenced post-liberation Korean attitudes toward names and naming. It intensified the cultural importance attached to Korean surnames and clan identity, and it remains a sensitive historical topic in Korean-Japanese relations. Today, the soshi-kaimei period is extensively taught in Korean schools and is frequently cited as a symbol of colonial cultural suppression, reinforcing for modern Koreans the deep connection between a name and national identity.