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Names of Seoul

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An early 20th century trading card from Germany, using an alternate spelling of Seoul, with "ö" for "eo".

Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has been called by a number of formal and informal names over time. The word seoul was originally a common noun that simply meant "capital city", and was used colloquially to refer to the capital throughout Korean history. Seoul became the official name of the South Korean capital after its liberation from Japan after the Second World War.

Historically, the city of what is now Seoul has been called in various names, including Wiryeseong, Bukhansangun, Hanyang, Namgyeong, Hanyangbu, and Hanseong.

Etymology of "Seoul"

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The name Seoul (서울; IPA: /səˈul/), was originally an old native Korean common noun meaning "capital city." It is believed to have originated from Seorabeol (서라벌; 徐じょ羅ら伐き),[1] which originally referred to Gyeongju, the capital of Silla, which was then called Geumseong (금성; 金城きんじょう).[2] Seorabeol, which also appears in old texts as "Seonabeol" (서나벌; 徐じょ那な伐き), "Seobeol" (서벌; 徐じょ伐き) or "Seoyabeol" (서야벌; 徐じょ耶伐), is theorized to have originated from the word seora (which comes from an ancient word meaning "high and holy") and beol (which means "field").[3]

History

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See also: History of Seoul

During the Korean Three Kingdoms Period, the first kingdom to conquer the Han River basin, which is home to the city that is now modern-day Seoul, was Baekje (18 BC – 660 AD). In 18 A.D., King Onjo of Baekje built the kingdom's capital of Wiryeseong (위례성; 慰禮城じょう), which was located inside the boundaries of modern-day Seoul. The fortress was also called Hanseong (한성; 漢かん城じょう).[3]

In 475, Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) forces under King Jangsu attacked Wiryeseong. Upon conquering the Baekje capital, Goguryeo established the commandery of Bukhansan (Bukhansangun; Korean: 북한산군; Hanja: 北きた漢かん山やま郡ぐん) in the regions surrounding the city. Bukhansangun was also called Nampyeongyang (Korean: 남평양; Hanja: 南みなみ平壤ぴょんやん; lit. South Pyeongyang).[3]

The city was called Hanyang in the Northern and Southern States period (698–926), and Namgyeong (남경; 南京なんきん) in the Goryeo period (918–1392).

The city was called Hanyangbu (한양부; 漢かん陽ひ府ふ) under Mongol rule (1270–1356), and Hanseong (한성; 漢かん城じょう) or Hanyang (한양; 漢かん陽ひ) in the Joseon period (1392–1897).

During the Joseon era, it started to be called Seoul by the public. In the middle of Joseon era, Hanseong and Hanyang were almost replaced by Seoul and remained only formal names.[4] During the period of Japanese colonial rule, Seoul was referred to by the Japanese exonym Keijō (京きょう城しろ), or the Korean reading of that name Gyeongseong. After World War II and Korea's liberation, the city officially adopted its current name.[5]

Gyeongseong

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Gyeongseong
Hunminjeongeum
경성
Hanja
京きょう城しろ
Revised RomanizationGyeongseong
McCune–ReischauerKyŏngsŏng

"Gyeongseong" is a Sino-Korean word for "capital city". Gyeong (경; 京きょう) means "capital" and seong (성; 城しろ) means "walled city". It was in occasional use to refer to Seoul throughout the Joseon dynasty,[6][7] having earlier referred to the capitals of Goryeo and Silla. The term came into much wider use during the period of Japanese rule because it is also the Korean form of Keijō (京きょう城しろ), the former Japanese name, which was used for Seoul during the colonial rule.

Seoul was called "Hanseong" (漢かん城じょう) or "Hanyang" (漢かん陽ひ) during the Joseon dynasty but the city's main railway station, Seoul Station, opened with the name "Gyeongseong Station" (京きょう城ぐすく驛えき) in 1900, which it retained until 1905.[8] It was then called Gyeongseong Station again from 1923 to 1947, when it assumed its current name.[9][10]

Gyeong is still used to refer to Seoul in the names of various railway lines and freeways, including:

Chinese characters for "Seoul"

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Unlike most other place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding Hanja (Chinese characters used to write the Korean language). This has caused problems in translating between Chinese and Korean, as Chinese terms for Korean places often are a direct reading of the Hanja names. Until recently, some Chinese sources used the older name "Hanseong" (한성; 漢かん城じょう) to refer to Seoul, as that term does have corresponding Hanja.[11]

However, this led to some confusion. For example, the name of Seoul National University (서울대학교; 서울大だい學校がっこう) would be rendered as "Hanseong University", but there already is a university that goes by that exact reading in Chinese: Hansung University (한성대학교; 漢かん城じょう大だい學校がっこう).[11]

Beginning in 2005, the Seoul City Government under Lee Myung-bak designated a new Chinese term for Seoul: Chinese: 首くび爾なんじ; Chinese: 首くび尔; pinyin: Shǒu'ěr.[12][13] The name was chosen by a select committee out of two names, the other being 首くび午うま爾なんじ; Shǒuwu'ěr.[13]

The chosen name is a close transliteration of Seoul in Mandarin Chinese; 首くび (shǒu) can also mean "first" or "capital". For some time after the name change, Chinese-language news media have used both names interchangeably during their publications or broadcasts (首くび爾なんじ [漢かん城じょう] in print,[14] 首くび爾なんじ, 以前いぜん的てき漢かん城じょう [literally: Shouer, formerly Hancheng] in television and radio).[15]

The change was intended for Chinese speakers only, and has no effect on the Korean language name. The new name would be written and pronounced 수이; Sui in Korean.[13] Some linguists criticize the selection of the new name, claim that its pronunciation in Korean bears no resemblance to the native name at all, and state that its intended representation of the Korean pronunciation is effective in Mandarin but is lost in other regional dialects, such as in Cantonese, in which the name is pronounced "sau2 yi5", or in Shanghainese, in which the new name (首くび爾なんじ) is pronounced "sew2 el3." Those critics have said that the names "西にし蔚" or "徐じょ蔚" (the latter being the ancient name of Seoul) would have been much more effective in representing the city's Korean name.[citation needed]

Other

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On a 1751 map of China and Korea prepared in France, Seoul was marked as "King-Ki-Tao, Capitale de la Corée", using an approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of Gyeonggi Province (京畿けいき道どう). The use of "King-Ki-Tao" to refer to Seoul was repeated again on the 1851 Tallis/Rapkin map of both Japan and Korea.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "서울". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  2. ^ "Gyeongju". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  3. ^ a b c 강진철; 김연옥; 박경룡; 손인수; 이재곤; 소재영; 이혜은; 나각순. "서울특별시 (서울特別とくべつ市し)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Hendick Hamel (1668), 蘭らん船せん濟州さいしゅう道どう難破なんぱ記き.
  5. ^ "Was Seoul Always Called Seoul?". The Seoul Searcher. Wordpress. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  6. ^ Katsuhiro Kuroda (2004-07-02). 漢かん城じょう、京きょう城じょう、セソウル？. Sankei Shimbun. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  7. ^ "ソウル". 日本にっぽん大だい百科全書ひゃっかぜんしょ. Shogakukan.
  8. ^ 경부철도 (PDF). Hwangsŏng Shinmun. 1905-04-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  9. ^ 역명개칭고시. Dong-a Ilbo. 1922-12-29.
  10. ^ "Introduction of Seoul Station on KTX Cyber Station". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20.
  11. ^ a b 김, 재은 (2004-03-05). "서울대? 한성(漢かん城じょう)대? 서울고? 한성(漢かん城じょう)고?". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  12. ^ 임대근; 高こう瑜 (2014-07-01). 드라마 중국어회화 핵심패턴 233 (in Korean). 길벗이지톡. p. 67. ISBN 978-89-6047-873-2.
  13. ^ a b c 김, 세중 (2005). "정책과 제도". National Institute of Korean Language. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  14. ^ 壹いち蘋果旅たび遊ゆう網もう－南みなみ韓かん－首くび爾なんじ﹝漢かん城じょう﹞ [NextMedia Travel: Seoul, South Korea)] (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  15. ^ "當年とうねん今日きょう之の1950年ねん9月がつ29日にち美び軍ぐん從したがえ北韓ほっかん手中しゅちゅう奪回だっかい漢かん城じょう (今こん首くび爾なんじ)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05.
  16. ^ "JAPAN & COREA': Yedo (Tokyo) King-ki-Tao (Seoul). Korea.TALLIS/RAPKIN 1851 map". Antiquemapsandprints.com.
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