Singer John Park to Become "Park John"? Debate Over New Surname-First Standard for Foreigners' Names

"Jordan Michael," "Trump Donald"... Surname Comes First
John Park Surprised: "Excuse me, just a moment"
Online Users Question: "Can This Really Be Implemented?"

Online users continue to debate the newly introduced standard for the notation of foreigners' names.

On August 28, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it would establish a "Standard for the Notation of Foreigners' Names." This measure aims to prevent difficulties in identity verification caused by inconsistent notation of foreigners' names, such as mixing the order of surname and given name or inconsistent spacing. The ministry explained that it created the standard after collecting feedback that foreigners have recently experienced inconvenience with the current notation methods.

Singer John Park (Park John) and the comment he posted on SNS that became a hot topic
[Image source=Asia Economy DB, SNS capture]

According to the announcement, in the future, foreigners' Korean names on administrative documents such as alien registration cards will be written in the order of surname followed by given name, with no space between them as a general rule. For example, Michael Jordan would be written as "Jordan Michael," and Donald Trump as "Trump Donald." The ministry plans to finalize and implement the standard after a public comment period that runs until September 19. It also clarified that this standard will apply only to administrative documents.

Meanwhile, singer John Park, who learned of the news through social media, drew attention by commenting, "Excuse me, just a moment," on a post that read, "John Park will now be 'Park John'." As a Korean-American, his name would be written as "Park John" under the new standard.

Yoon Sook Lee, Deputy Head of the Administrative and Civil Petition System Improvement Planning Group, explained the "Standard for the Notation of Foreigners' Names (Draft)" at the 10th Policy Briefing Session of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News

Online users also reacted, saying, "It's so strange to see 'Park John' instead of 'John Park'," "Foreigners have usually put their surname last, so I'm not sure if this will be implemented smoothly," and "It seems a bit unrealistic."