Read a version of this story in Korean
North Korea has ordered that parents give their children names that reflect the country’s revolutionary spirit -- and in some cases has even told people to change their names if they sound too South Korean, residents told Radio Free Asia.
It’s another example of pushback against what authorities in Pyongyang view as an infiltration of South Korean capitalist culture.
But it also reinforces recent declarations that South Korea is no longer considered part of the same country, and that in fact South Koreans are no longer part of the same race of people, residents said.
Almost every Korean name has a specific meaning, and in the South, parents have the freedom to choose any name without much interference from the state.
But in the North, the government prefers that children be given names that convey loyalty to the state, sound militaristic or express personal virtues.
Recently, it’s become trendy in North Korea to give children names that have good meanings and are easy to pronounce, a resident from the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
For girls, they include Su Bin (outstanding brilliance), Da On (all good things coming), A Ri (noble and precious), or Si A (righteous and pure character).
For boys, there’s Do Yun (inner strength), Ha Yul (the word of God), Ji U (close, similar-minded, friend), and Min So (good citizen).
But these have now somewhat fallen out of favor according to the order -- and residents think it might be because the government is implying they sound kind of South Korean.
Instead, the government has suggested names that convey the party’s eternal love for the people, like Eun Hye (grace), Eun Dok (benevolence), and Haeng Bok (happiness). Or names that reflect loyalty to the party, like Chung Song (loyalty), Chung Sil (Sincerity) and Chung Bok (Devotion).
The resident said that if names sounded too South Korean, people would be required to change them, but didn’t provide any examples of that happening.
Commitment to the revolution
The new naming rules are meant to reinforce commitment to the revolution, the resident said.
“The party’s directive is to name children in a way that preserves Juche ideology and national identity,” she said, referring to the country’s founding ideology of self-reliance.
“This essentially means that children’s names should never be given in a way that could allow the South Korean puppets to be considered as fellow compatriots.”
(The North Korean government often uses the derogatory term “puppets” to refer to South Koreans, implying that the South is a U.S. puppet state.)
The government hopes that if North Koreans have patriotic names, then fewer will share names with South Koreans, the resident said.
Ordinary people are not happy with the order, she said.
“Some people are expressing discontent, saying, that naming a child should be the parents’ decision, not the party’s,” she said. “The authorities are forcing this revolutionary name changes, controlling every aspect of our lives.”
‘Not Loyal’
In some cases, people with a perfectly acceptable given name are made to change it because of their family name, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA.
“One resident named their child Chung Song (loyalty), but had to change it because their surname is An,” he said.
“An” means peace, but it has the same pronunciation as the word that means “not.”
“The name An Chung Song therefore means ‘not loyal,’ so the authorities ordered the name to be changed,” the second resident said.
When people heard this, they sarcastically started suggesting negative names for people with the name An, he said.
“Maybe Chung Song should change his name to Byon Jol (treacherous), so he’d be An Byon Jol (not treacherous),” the second resident said. “They are laughing at the authorities' behavior.”
He said that most residents consider the order baffling, because the parents chose these names with hopes for their children’s success, and shouldn’t have to change simply because the government thinks they are South Korean.
“If socialism can be shaken by just a name, where is the so-called invincibility of the North Korean system?”
Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.