1. Sounds, not letters
Hangul is a phonetic alphabet, so a foreign name is written as it is pronounced. Silent letters disappear: Thomas is 토머스 (to-meo-seu) with no “h”, and in Michael 마이클 (ma-i-keul) the “ch” is a plain k. Two people with the same spelling but different pronunciations get different Korean spellings: Stephen 스티븐 (“Steven”) and Stefan 스테펀.
Because it goes by sound, the standard follows British-style pronunciation for vowels: the “o” in John is 오 (존), not 아, and an “r” after a vowel is dropped — Mark is 마크, Peter is 피터.
2. Consonants
Korean has no f, v, z or th, and one letter for both r and l. The official rules replace them like this:
| English sound | Korean | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| p, b | ㅍ, ㅂ | Peter 피터, Brian 브라이언 |
| t, d | ㅌ, ㄷ | Tom 톰, David 데이비드 |
| k, g | ㅋ, ㄱ | Kevin 케빈, Gary 게리 |
| f | ㅍ (the same letter as p) | Frank 프랭크, Jennifer 제니퍼 |
| v | ㅂ (the same letter as b) | Victoria 빅토리아, Steven 스티븐 |
| th as in think | ㅅ | Matthew 매슈, Keith 키스 |
| th as in this | ㄷ | Heather 헤더 |
| s, z | ㅅ, ㅈ | Susan 수전, Elizabeth 엘리자베스 |
| sh | 시 before a vowel, 시 at the end | Sharon 샤론, Ashley 애슐리 |
| ch, j | ㅊ, ㅈ | Charles 찰스, James 제임스 |
| m, n, ng | ㅁ, ㄴ, ㅇ | Mary 메리, Nancy 낸시 |
| r, l | ㄹ (an l between vowels is ㄹㄹ) | Robert 로버트, Helen 헬렌 |
| h | ㅎ | Henry 헨리 |
| w | 워 / 와 / 웨 / 위, joined to the vowel | William 윌리엄, Wendy 웬디 |
| y | 야 / 유 / 요, joined to the vowel | Julia 줄리아 |
3. Vowels
Korean vowels are pure — no glide at the end of “o” or “ay”. Diphthongs are written as two vowels.
| English sound | Korean | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a as in cat | ㅐ | Patrick 패트릭, Daniel 대니얼 |
| a as in father, ar as in car | ㅏ | Mark 마크, Carl 칼 |
| e as in bed | ㅔ | Kevin 케빈, Ben 벤 |
| i as in sit, ee as in see | ㅣ | Jim 짐, Peter 피터 |
| o as in hot (the British o) | ㅗ | John 존, Scott 스콧 |
| u as in cut, and the “uh” of unstressed syllables | ㅓ | Russell 러셀, Thomas 토머스 |
| oo as in food, u as in put | ㅜ | Lucy 루시, Susan 수전 |
| aw as in law, or as in George | ㅗ | Paul 폴, George 조지 |
| ay as in James | 에이 | James 제임스, David 데이비드 |
| i as in Mike | 아이 | Michael 마이클, Brian 브라이언 |
| o as in Joe | 오 | Joe 조, Tony 토니 |
| ow as in Howard | 아우 | Howard 하워드 |
| oy as in Joyce | 오이 | Joyce 조이스 |
4. The “eu” that appears from nowhere
A Korean syllable is (consonant) + vowel + (one final consonant), and only seven sounds can be that final consonant: k, n, t, l, m, p, ng. English loves consonant clusters, so wherever a consonant has no vowel to lean on, Korean adds its weakest vowel, ㅡ (“eu”): Chris 크리스, Steve 스티브, Edward 에드워드. The ㅡ is short and almost swallowed.
A p, t or k right after a short vowel at the end of a name can be a final consonant, with no ㅡ: Jack 잭, Pat 팻, Scott 스콧. After a long vowel or another consonant it gets the ㅡ: Mark 마크, Kate 케이트.
5. Why spellings online disagree
Most Koreans spell foreign names by ear, so you will see 미카엘 for Michael (the German and Spanish reading), 사라 for Sarah where the standard says 세라, and 세바스찬 for Sebastian where it says 서배스천. K-pop stars pick their own spellings and fans copy them. None of these is “wrong” in conversation; the official spelling is simply the one used in print, in textbooks and on official documents. That is why KoreaSum shows the official spelling with a badge, shows the everyday spelling next to it when they differ, and marks everything else as an estimate.
The standard is set by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원). Its committee on foreign names (외래어 심의회) rules on names in the news and publishes the decisions. The name tool is built on 1526 English first names and 3,000 surnames from those published decisions.
6. Introducing yourself
Once you have the spelling, the sentence depends on whether it ends in a consonant (받침):
- Ends in a vowel: 제 이름은 세라예요. — My name is Sarah. · 세라라고 불러 주세요. — Please call me Sarah.
- Ends in a consonant: 제 이름은 마이클이에요. — My name is Michael. · 마이클이라고 불러 주세요. — Please call me Michael.
- Formal, for any name: 저는 마이클입니다. — I am Michael.
Koreans say the surname first for Korean names (김민준), but foreign names keep their own order: 마이클 조던, not 조던 마이클.
7. Hangul spelling or a Korean name?
Everything above gives you your own name in Korean letters — the way it would appear in a Korean newspaper. Some people also want a Korean-style name: two syllables, usually with Chinese-character meanings, like 지우 or 서준. That is a personal choice rather than a rule, and a Korean friend or teacher is the best person to help you pick one that suits you.