The McCune-Reischauer Korean Romanization System John Holstein Transactions, Royal Asiatic Society Volume 74 - 1999 (Update: Since this article was written, the Korean government implemented the “Revised Romanization of Korean.” This article provides a short history of romanization systems of hangul, explanation of differences between the systems, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of these systems.) The headline in the 14 January 1984 cause that would have required using issue of the Korea Times came as good arcane symbols. “We have not intended news to the thousands of people who that it be used in phonetic or in techni- were looking for relief from the endless cal philological research. Rather, we debate over which system would be have made it for general scholarly and used for romanizing Korean: “Gov’t to non-scholarly use where phonetic sym- adopt M-R system.” The article ex- bols would be cumbersome and annoy- plained that “The Education Ministry ing and where strict phonetic exactness announced its policy to romanize Ko- is not demanded. We have therefore at- rean words almost in strict observance tempted to effect a compromise between of the McCune-Reischauer system yes- scientific accuracy and practical sim- terday, putting an end to the decades- plicity” (McCune, 1939). Neither did old controversy over the matter.” At they attempt to represent to an exact long last, after all these years of confu- degree the way Korean is written; they sion, we could finally stop battling over designed their system with the inten- which romanization system to use— tion of providing a relatively simple until, in May of 1999, the message from method of representing what the lan- Seoul National University Professor Lee guage sounds like when it is spoken. Sang Oak appeared on the Korean Studies Forum list: “…the NAKL [Na- The historical background on romaniza- tional Academy of the Korean Language] tion systems for Korean decided to re-open inquiry into the is- Though not the first romanization sys- sue.”1 So the controversy continues. tem for Korean, the Ross system, de- And it will probably continue as long as signed in 18822, seems to be the first humans seek a better way, because nei- system used by a significant number of ther the Korean nor the English writing people, mainly missionaries. At the time system is equipped to represent all the of the creation of the M-R system, ac- rules of Korean pronunciation in a way cording to McCune, there were more that is entirely accurate, convenient than 27 systems. In 1997 the number and aesthetically pleasing. was estimated at “more than 40” (Kim, It is fitting that these notes have 1997). That is not surprising in light of been provided in time to celebrate the the fact that a standardized Korean or- venerable system’s hwan’gap in the thography did not appear until 1933, year 1999. prior to which Korean was written ac- cording to pronunciation (which varied What is the M-R system used for? according to dialect) instead of language The McCune-Reischauer romanization structure. The first system promulgated system was originally devised, in 1939, officially by the Korean government was to satisfy the need for one standard ro- the Ministry of Education system of manization of Korean. The designers of 1948 (based on the M-R system, with a the system did not attempt an exact no- few variations); subsequently, in 1959, tation that would include all the details the Ministry of Education adopted a of the language’s phonetic system, be- system based on different principles, thereby causing much confusion and 7/2/05 1/ 19 mr9912 dissatisfaction among those who used Korea and was then forced by political the M-R system. All this discontent events in China to stay in Korea for a brought about two more proposals, in couple of months. During this period 1978 and 1979, and then, around 1982, McCune and Reischauer began devel- after it was announced that Korea opment of their romanization system would host the 1988 Olympics, a wide with Ch’oe Hyônbae and other linguists; and vociferous discussion erupted, development continued after Reis- again between the anti- and pro-M.R. chauer left, until the McCune- forces, culminating in the government Reischauer system was published in announcement in 1984 that it would 1939, in that year’s Transactions of the use a slightly modified M-R system. Royal Asiatic Society. Over the next decade, however, discon- tent continued to simmer, and came to Chronology of significant date in the ro- a boil again in 1997 with another de- manization of Korean bate. That debate subsided with no 1835: Missionary W. H. Medhurst uses conclusion reached, simmered for an- his unnamed and unpublished other two years, and was brought back system in his translation of a to full boil in 1999. (You can observe book on Chinese, Korean and this discussion, continuing into 2000, if Japanese languages.3 you subscribe to the Korea Studies fo- 1882: J. Ross’s system appears.4 rum at www.mailbase.com.) Meanwhile, 1874: The Dallet (French) system intro- since 1986, while controversy has con- duces the commonly seen di- tinued inside Korea, outside Korea the graphs eo and eu.5 International Standards Organization 1897: J. S. Gale’s system is introduced (ISO) has been consulting with the two in his A Korean-English Dictionary. Koreas over adoption of an ISO stan- 1933: The Korean Language Research dard for romanization of Han’gûl. Society publishes “Rules for the Unification of Spelling to Conform Development of the M-R system to the Unified System,” and Donald Clark (1997) tells us how the M- names its writing system Han’gûl. R system was conceived and developed. 1935: Jung Insub publishes his system, George McCune was born in Korea to a “The International Phonetic Tran- Presbyterian missionary family who scription of Korean Speech came to Korea in 1905. After graduating Sounds”.6 from a university in the United States 1939: The McCune-Reischauer system he returned to Korea to continue his is presented in Transactions. studies in East Asian history and pur- 1940: The Korean Language Society sue formal understanding of the Korean publicizes its “The Romanization language at Chosen Christian College of Korean Sounds,” the first sys- (the present Yonsei University) under tem devised entirely by Koreans. the distinguished Korean linguists 1948: The Korean government adopts Ch’oe Hyônbae and Chông Insôp. Many the McCune-Reischauer system. linguists of the time were dissatisfied 1954: Samuel Martin presents his Yale- with the existing romanization systems, Martin system7 for linguistic in particular the system that the Japa- analysis. nese government had forced on Korea. 1956: The North Korean system (modi- (This system, designed more for ro- fied slightly in 1986)8 is promul- manization of Japanese, produced such gated. anomalies as Tyosen for the more rec- 1959: The Ministry of Education an- ognizable Chosen.) In the summer of nounces its change to a translit- 1937 Edwin O. Reischauer, on his way eration (spelling-based) system; to China to collect information for a pa- from this point till 1984 different per he was writing in Japan, stopped in 7/2/05 2/ 19 mr9912 government agencies use different The most popular romanization systems systems. in the year 2000 1979: The National Academy of Sci- At present, four systems are widely ences proposes a revision of the used in Korea, exclusively or in combi- 1959 MOE system. nation. 1981: The Workshop Conference on Ko- The Yale-Martin system is used by rean Romanization is sponsored most linguists in their structural and by the Center for Korean Studies, phonological study of the Korean lan- University of Hawaii.9 guage. Most will agree with Fouser’s 1982: Spirited public criticism of the (1998b) statement that “The Yale- 1959 MOE system breaks out. Martin system’s wide-spread use in 1984: The Korean government adopts scholarship makes it a de facto second what is popularly known as the system along with the current McCune- “Ministry of Education (MOE) sys- Reischauer system” (if we regard the tem”10 (the McCune-Reischauer 1984 MOE system as one with the system with minor alterations); McCune-Reischauer). this remains the official govern- The M-R system is used by “foreign ment system.11 organizations, institutions and persons 1986: Discussions begin between the (diplomats, military officials17, map- two Koreas for agreement on a makers, librarians [including the United proposal by the ISO (International States’ Library of Congress, which made Standards Organization) system. some revisions (Choi 1999)], authors, 1996: A meeting is hosted by the Na- bibliographers, publishers and others), tional Commission for Romaniza- both inside and outside Korea” (Kaliher, tion to get opinions from Koreans 1982, p. 44). The 1984 MOE system is and non-Koreans in the public in- also used by many Koreans and non- volved in romanization.12 Koreans in an individual capacity and, 1997: The National Commission for of course, by Korean government de- Romanization, appointed by the partments and agencies in official gov- Ministry of Culture and Sports,13 ernment publications and correspon- proposes government adoption of dence, textbooks, road signs, and other a spelling-based system (similar English language functions under the to the 1959 MOE system); a jurisdiction of the government. heated debate erupts in the press Many Koreans and non-Koreans and on the Internet. who use the M-R or 1984 MOE system 1998: The Ministry of Culture and actually borrow, consciously or uncon- Sports proscribes all further de- sciously, consistently or inconsistently, bate on which system to use.14 the 1959 MOE system’s digraphs eo 1999: ISO subcommittee decides to re- and eu (for the unrounded /o/ and /u/) view proposed romanization sys- to avoid the technical difficulties en- tem 3 years later, in order to pro- countered in rendering the M-R sys- vide time for full agreement be- tem’s breve ( ˘ ); and they sometimes tween the two Koreas, with possi- use b, d, g and j at the beginning of a ble adoption as an ISO standard word rather than the p, t, k and ch re- 15 at that time.