Yu-Na Kim or Kim Yu-Na?

[FSWer]

Say,I have been watching the Olympics and for some reason the keep calling Yu-Na Kim, Kim Yu-Na. Are there 2 was to say her name? Do the TV. people love to say names backwards? Or have people just forgotten how to say her name? What's up? Thanks.

[Clarice]

In Korea, people say their last name first. Sometimes the TV people say her name like they do in Korea, which would be Kim Yu-Na, and sometimes they say it like we do, first name first, which is Yu-Na Kim.

[FSWer]

Interesting. What about if people get married? BTW. do we have a history to wow that stared and why they do that? What about in the case of Pairs or Ice-Dancers?

[Clarice]

ALL people in Korea say their last names first. It's the same for singles skaters, pairs skaters, ice dancers, school teachers, truck drivers - everybody. That's just how they do it there. They think it's strange that we do it the other way.

[rlichtefeld]

It international competitions (and in most countries other than the USA), family names are written CAPITALIZED, and given (or first) names are in Proper Case.

So you will see her name on the results screens and reports as
KIM Yu-Na or
Yu-Na KIM

Take a look here for the results of the short program. All the skater's family names are in CAPS.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/figure-skating/resultsandschedules/event=FSW010000/phase=FSW010201/index.html

Rob

[FSWer]

ALL people in Korea say their last names first. It's the same for singles skaters, pairs skaters, ice dancers, school teachers, truck drivers - everybody. That's just how they do it there. They think it's strange that we do it the other way.

Do we know a reason for that tridition in Korea though? How did it start? Do they believe it to be good luck for ex.?

[Clarice]

Do we know a reason for that tridition in Korea though? How did it start? Do they believe it to be good luck for ex.?

I don't know that they have a reason for doing it their way any more than we have a reason for doing it our way. In China they say last names first, too, by the way.

[dbny]

If we step back, and do not say "first" name and "last" name, but instead use the terms "given" name (the name your parents give you) and "family" name (the name shared by all members of your family) then the custom of saying/writing the family name first and given name last makes a lot of sense. Right away, you know the family of the person you are meeting or reading about. In ancient times, those family names may have been the names of tribes or clans. When meeting a stranger, ones tribe or clan would be much more important than the name you were called casually every day.

[Virtualsk8r]

Yu-Na refers to herself as Yu-Na - as that it her given name and those around her do as well. Since she has been living and training in Canada, she has gone by the North American version of Given/Family names - Yu-Na Kim. So while NBC keeps referring to her as Kim Yu-Na, the Canadian broadcasters use her Canadian version of Yu-Na Kim.

BTW I know a few Koreans who have married Canadians or Americans with names like Smith or Wollensky - and have become Yu-Na Wollensky!!

[FSWer]

Yu-Na refers to herself as Yu-Na - as that it her given name and those around her do as well. Since she has been living and training in Canada, she has gone by the North American version of Given/Family names - Yu-Na Kim. So while NBC keeps referring to her as Kim Yu-Na, the Canadian broadcasters use her Canadian version of Yu-Na Kim.

BTW I know a few Koreans who have married Canadians or Americans with names like Smith or Wollensky - and have become Yu-Na Wollensky!!

It's funny how some Canadians have common names like we do here in the US. But some don't. BTW. what does Yu-Na translate into? Why do Canadians use it? BTW. is everything the same as here with names when it comes to the mail?

[dbny]

Yu-Na Kim (or Kim Yu-Na) is not Canadian. She is from South Korea. She trains in Canada with Brian Orser, but skates for South Korea. Both her given name and her family name are Korean.

Many people from other countries have moved to Canada, just as many have moved to the US over the years, so Canadians, just like Americans, can have names that are Chinese, Spanish, Italian, etc.

[expo86]

Yu-Na Kim (or Kim Yu-Na) is not Canadian. She is from South Korea. She trains in Korea with Brian Orser, but skates for South Korea. Both her given name and her family name are Korean.



I think you mean Toronto, right? It was so great to see how happy Yu-Na and Brian were when her marks came up after her LP. :D

[dbny]

I think you mean Toronto, right? It was so great to see how happy Yu-Na and Brian were when her marks came up after her LP. :D

Duh! Thanks.

[Kat12]

How is it pronounced? Like two separate words (yu-na) or like one (yoona)?

(I knew a girl named Yuna once about ten years ago--actually, her name WAS Yuna Kim!--and she pronounced it the second way. I don't think she was Korean, though, but I can't remember.)