'Hangang River' Not 'Han River' for the English Name of '한강'

Seoul City Requests "Please Use Correct Notation"
Romanization of Natural Place Names and Full Names Is the Principle

'Hangang', Seoul's representative tourist destination visited by many domestic and international tourists. How should Hangang be written in English?

Currently, the English notation of Hangang is used interchangeably as 'Han River' and 'Hangang River' in broadcasts, newspapers, and internet portal sites, causing confusion among many citizens.

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that the correct English notation of Hangang is 'Hangang River' and asked tourists to cooperate in using the accurate English name.

Previously, in 2010, Seoul established the 'Improvement and Promotion Plan for Foreign Language Notation of Facilities and Promotional Materials in Hangang Park' to unify the English notation of Hangang Park and provide accurate names to domestic and international tourists, officially standardizing the English notation of Hangang as 'Hangang River'.

Later, in 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism enacted the 'Guidelines for Foreign Language Translation and Notation of Public Terms', establishing unified regulations for the English notation of natural place names. According to this, the principle is to write the full name in Roman letters and include the attribute translation. For example, Hangang should be written as 'Hangang River' and Hallasan as 'Hallasan Mountain'.

Joo Yong-tae, head of the Future Hangang Headquarters of Seoul, said, "As the number of foreign tourists increases, it is time for the public and private sectors to cooperate to provide higher-quality tourism services and consistent promotion of Hangang." He added, "Seoul will make various efforts to ensure that the correct English notation of Hangang is established in the future."