Yeouido Hangang Park, Seoul (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – In an effort to bring consistency to its international tourism branding, Seoul city officials are working to standardize the English-language name of the South Korean capital’s landmark waterway, emphasizing that “Hangang River” is the correct form over the commonly used “Han River.”
The city’s push for standardization follows what officials describe as persistent inconsistencies in English references to the river across internet portals and tourist materials.
The initiative builds on a 2010 municipal policy that established “Hangang River” as the official English designation for the waterway and its surrounding parks.
The standardization effort gained additional authority in 2020 when South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued guidelines for foreign language translations of public terminology.
These guidelines stipulate that natural landmarks should combine romanized Korean names with English translations of their geographic features – thus “Hangang River” for 한강 and “Hallasan Mountain” for 한라산.
“This is a crucial moment for public-private cooperation to enhance our tourism services and maintain consistent promotion of the Hangang,” said Joo Yong-tae, head of Seoul’s Future Hangang Headquarters. “We will continue our efforts to establish the correct English designation.”
The naming convention reflects a broader pattern in Korean geographic nomenclature, where the full Korean name is romanized and paired with an English geographic descriptor, even when this creates what might appear to English speakers as redundancy – the “gang” in Hangang already means “river” in Korean.
City officials have called for cooperation from various stakeholders, including media outlets and tourism businesses, to implement the standardized terminology in their English-language materials, marking another step in Seoul’s ongoing efforts to refine its international image.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
