My Name in Hangul 이름
Type your name and see how a Korean newspaper, a barista, or the immigration office would write it in Hangul.
How Koreans write foreign names
Hangul is an alphabet, so your name is written by sound, not by spelling. Korea has an official rulebook for this (the Loanword Orthography), and for common names the spelling has settled over decades. Michael is always 마이클, never anything else, because that is how newspapers have written it since the 1960s.
Three things change your name on the way in. Sounds Korean does not have. There is no f, v, z or th, so Fiona becomes 피오나 (pi-o-na) and Zoe becomes 조이 (jo-i). Every syllable needs a vowel. Chris has one vowel but three consonants, so it becomes three syllables: 크리스, keu-ri-seu. No final r. Peter ends in a soft "eo": 피터, pi-teo.
What to put on official documents
Your passport name in Latin letters is what matters legally. On the Alien Registration Card you may add a Hangul name, and you choose the spelling. Most people use the standard spelling this tool gives, because banks and delivery drivers will recognise it. Once you pick one, use it everywhere: a bank account under 마이클 and a phone contract under 마이켈 will cause a headache later.
Questions people ask
Is there one correct way to write my name in Korean?
For common names, effectively yes: the standard spelling in this tool. For rarer names two spellings can both be reasonable. Pick one and stay consistent.
Should I just take a Korean name instead?
Many long-term residents do, and Koreans find it charming rather than strange. Our Korean Name Generator (coming soon) suggests names with a meaning that fits you. You can use both: the Hangul spelling of your real name on documents, a Korean name with friends.
Why is my name written with an extra "eu" sound?
Hangul cannot end a syllable with most consonants or stack two consonants together, so it inserts the neutral vowel ㅡ (eu). Mark is 마크 (ma-keu). It is the same reason Koreans say "keu-ri-seu-ma-seu" for Christmas.
Can you write Japanese, Chinese or Arabic names?
Type them in Latin letters (romanised) and we will do our best. Many common ones are in our dictionary. For Chinese names, note Korea usually writes the Mandarin sound, not the Korean reading of the characters.
Spellings follow the National Institute of Korean Language loanword rules and common media usage. Last checked: September 2026.