Family names cause problems for multicultural children in South Korea

By Choi Ha-young

Go Hyeon-jeong, a 31-year-old office worker, had a daughter with her Taiwanese husband in 2013. Her husband’s last name is pronounced “Keo” in Taiwan and “Ga” in Korea. Since the former sounds awkward in Korea she wanted to use “Ga” for her two-year-old daughter’s surname.

However, it didn’t go well. When the couple registered their marriage, government officials said they must use “Keo.” Therefore, their daughter was supposed to use the foreign surname. Since it didn’t match with her Korean name, the girl is now using her Taiwanese-style full name which is rare here.

“Due to the foreign name, I always have to explain my husband’s ethnicity whenever I go to the hospital with my daughter,” Go told The Korea Times. “Even if my husband is foreign, my daughter has Korean citizenship. It’s unfair because multiracial children between Korean fathers and foreign mothers can use Korean-style surnames.”

“While Korean society is getting more multicultural, the system is not keeping up with this trend. It’s very regretful as a mother, if my daughter has difficulties in adjusting to this society and can’t have a Korean identity.”

Other than Go’s daughter, many multiracial children living in Korea with fathers from countries using Chinese characters ― China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are stressed over their “awkward” surnames. These countries’ shared naming system originates from ancient China and each country has its own pronunciation of Chinese characters.

Go has gathered examples from those families to reform the regulations on family registration.