Names in Azure City

[Xilehxt]

With all the lovely speculations with what Miko has done, and what will happen flying around here and there, this thread doesn't really match. But here it is.

Except for Miko, Shojo and Hinjo, don't the names of the people in Azure city sound...really Korean? Well, as a matter of fact, they are Korean names, and I'm just wondering if there are a lot of Koreans in Pennsylvania or if the Giants has some Korean friends.

Soon Kim (well, duh...Kim for a last name. How much more Korean can you get?), his lover Mi-jung, definately Korean again. And the new paladin, O-chul. Korean once more. Although Azure city is the oriental section of the OOTSverse, not seeing much Chinese names, and sadly, the trend is that Japanese names do sound better in English than Korean names.

So, for anyone who bothered to care why the characters are named with Korean names (being Korean..it interests me..a bit) why might this be so? My bet is that the Giant has some Korean friends.

[Haruki-kun]

mmmmmmmm.................I'd been thinking about that myself.

At first, I thought they were all Japanese names, because well, we meet Miko Miyazaki, which is 100% Japanese (MIYAZAKI!!!!!:smallsmile: )
But then I saw "Soon Kim" and "O-Chul"........ Soon is not pronouncable in Japanese, and as it is. It would have to be Sun. Kim is also not pronouncable (the "m" cannot stand by itself). And "O-Chul" is also unpronouncable, as there is no "L"........

of course, I couldn't actually tell where the names came from......all I knew is that, well, they weren't Japanese and, needless to say, not French, Spanish, English, Italian, German, or anything of the sort (and I don't have to speak those languages to realize it).

[Xilehxt]

I see. Yeah. The names are Korean.

Oh, and probably not the best time to make fun of Shojo when he just passed away...but if that o has a long sound....then his name means "little girl". Not really befitting a ruler of a great city...

[fall_ark]

Well, "Shojo" is merely a latin form and represents nothing but pronunciation. Same pronunciation may have many different meanings. But that's possible.

[Copacetic]

Umm does the name have anything to do with the fact he just died??

[Xilehxt]

No,that's why I said, this thread doesn't really belong in the midst of all that's happening. I was just making a point that came to mind here.

[busterswd]

Another similar pattern to Korean: retention of the last syllable in the name.

Shojo
Hinjo


I've got 5 aunts whose names end in "yong". :smallbiggrin:

[Xilehxt]

Ah, I missed that. Hinjo and Shojo were Japanese so I didn't bother looking for Korean in those names, but yeah indeed that's a Korean trait. My brother, my 9 cousins, and I all have names ending with Soo.

[Hephaestus]

We only know the names of what, 6 or 7 people from Azure City (and the entire southern lands for that matter) and 3 of them have Japanese names. I think the Giant just gave oriental names to everyone.

[InuSaga]

Miko is also the Japanese word for shinto shrine priestess. I often wondered if the Giant did that on purpose. My gut tells me that the Giant wasn't going for specific Asian names, because those come with meanings which would lead to even more speculation why they're named the way they are. I think he just wanted Asian sounding names, if he did indeed think of such things.

[Xilehxt]

Yes, I know there's little to work with, but the problem lies in that Korean names aren't that much known, especially the ones that the Giant used. Miko Maiyazaki...yeah typical Japanese name. Shojo...from Shojo manga? Hinjo sounds similar to Shojo.

But the Korean names are not that common. Soon Kim, Mijung, and O-chul? These would not be known if the Giant did not have some connections to Koreans.

PS: The only Korean names that's sorta widely known on this side of hobbys would be...I dunno.... from Soul Calibur....Yun-Sung and Sung Mi-na.

[War]

I can see him filling in the minor inhabitants of Azure City with Korean names specifically because pseudo-Japanese and pseudo-Chinese cultural influences are so common in fantasy. You know, out in "The East", which seems to be every other fantasy world's codename for faux Asia.

The fact that all the more important people from there have Japanese-sounding names is an interesting exception, though. If it were just Shojo and Hinjo it might not be so noticeable, but Miko Miyazaki is quite distinctly Japanese. Interesting pattern.

[Raistlin1040]

That's interesting. I don't really look too hard at names but that is an interesting bit of knowledge.

[Xilehxt]

I really wouldn't call Soon minor....although yeah, the NPCs the Order commonly frequents have Japanese names, which as I stated before, sound better in English then Korean names in English.

[Ulrich_Brew]

So Azure City isn't just japan, but it is also Korea?

Well, combining two cultures into one in a fantasy setting isn't that unheard of. I guess it is nice to know they aren't just Japanese...

[Winter_Wolf]

That's actually really cool. I never would have thought, "hey those names sound Korean." 'Course I've only known five Koreans in my entire life, and one was named 'Dwight'.

And while it doesn't really have anything to do with anything, 'Miko' can also mean "beautiful child". I knew a Miko once in Japan. Thankfully she was much better company than the Oots Miko appears to be. Even less to do with anything, I seem to know an absurdly large proportion of girls who are, despite being very nice people, incredibly ugly girls with names alluding their (everlasting) beauty. Bitter irony indeed.

[fall_ark]

That's actually really cool. I never would have thought, "hey those names sound Korean." 'Course I've only known five Koreans in my entire life, and one was named 'Dwight'.

And while it doesn't really have anything to do with anything, 'Miko' can also mean "beautiful child". I knew a Miko once in Japan. Thankfully she was much better company than the Oots Miko appears to be. Even less to do with anything, I seem to know an absurdly large proportion of girls who are, despite being very nice people, incredibly ugly girls with names alluding their (everlasting) beauty. Bitter irony indeed.


Hey, there's bound to be a lot of "irony" names since they are named at birth, not after grown-up.
There are also traditions to give children bad or somehow despicable names.

[team56th]

Azure is Italian meaning 'blue'.
Considering Azure City is completely blue colored, I'm sure of it.

And Soon-Kim and Mijung is absolutely Korean ones.
Trust me. I'm Korean living in Seoul.

[chrono]

Yes, I know there's little to work with, but the problem lies in that Korean names aren't that much known, especially the ones that the Giant used. Miko Maiyazaki...yeah typical Japanese name. Shojo...from Shojo manga? Hinjo sounds similar to Shojo.

But the Korean names are not that common. Soon Kim, Mijung, and O-chul? These would not be known if the Giant did not have some connections to Koreans.

PS: The only Korean names that's sorta widely known on this side of hobbys would be...I dunno.... from Soul Calibur....Yun-Sung and Sung Mi-na.

You'd be right 20 years ago. Today, you have the internet:
it takes 10 seconds to search google for a list of korean names.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=korean+name+list&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

in 20 more seconds you've got the wikipedia entry, which is full of all sorts of goodness (lists AND logic behind making given and family names, including the stuff mentioned about common ending/characters for siblings/cousins).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_name

In an hour I bet the giant could make hundreds of "good" names without prior knowledge.

[SPoD]

Riddle me this: Why is it strange that in one part of the world, there are both Korean and Japanese names in the same culture, when in other parts of the world, we have Celtic (Roy), English (Haley, Eugene), Greek (Phil, and with a Latino surname of "Rodriguez" no less), Spanish (Julio), and French (Sabine) all existing side-by-side?

I think in this case, it's meant to represent lineage. Certain families (like Shojo/Hinjo) have Japanese names, others have Korean names. There are probably some with Chinese or Thai names, too, we just haven't seen them yet.

As far as knowing Korean people, a lot of authors use baby name websites when naming characters (I know I just used one to track down the ethnicities of those names). Maybe Rich just decided he wanted to broaden the backgrounds of his characters and searched a Korean name database until he got ones he liked?

EDIT: Also:


Azure is Italian meaning 'blue'.
Considering Azure City is completely blue colored, I'm sure of it.

It's also a word in English, meaning "blue" as well. Usually a bright blue, like Miko's cloak.

[Xilehxt]

Ah, we have another candidate for Korean names in Azure City.

The blind diviner's name, Sang-waan, would be another Korean name. Yeah, I can imagine Rich pulling these names out from a Korean baby name book...sorta...not really conventional names, and I don't think Koreans HAVE baby name books. Either named from family progression, and syllables aren't hard to pair up to make a Korean name.

My view is still that Rich has some Korean friends...or at least aquantices.

[Azukar]

But then I saw "Soon Kim" and "O-Chul"........ Soon is not pronouncable in Japanese, and as it is. It would have to be Sun. Kim is also not pronouncable (the "m" cannot stand by itself).

so-o-n ki-n :smallwink:

So it sounds like "sawn kin"

[spectheintro]

so-o-n ki-n :smallwink:

So it sounds like "sawn kin"

Or they could just "su-n" or, if they were feeling frisky, "tsu-n." If you needed to lengthen the u sound, just stick one in: "su-u-n kin."

[Azukar]

Yeah, but my way was intended to keep the Giant's spelling, not what we assume his pronunciation would be.

[Skippy the Dire]

Personally, I'm just glad we have O-chul as opposed to O-Chuul.

Or worse, Darby O'Chuul (and the Little Aberrations).

[Azukar]

Could be worse: O-chu.
Imagine the paladin who suddenly falls asleep in the midst of a battle!

[Charity322]

General Chang sounds Chinese to me.

[Xilehxt]

Indeed, Chang is both a Chinese and Korean surname. We won't know which way he bends until his first name is revealed...

I wasn't saying that most everyone in Azure City is named Korean...just wondering where these obscure Korean names are popping up from.

[Charity322]

Obscure? So they aren't common Korean names?

[brian c]

So Azure City isn't just japan, but it is also Korea?

Well, combining two cultures into one in a fantasy setting isn't that unheard of. I guess it is nice to know they aren't just Japanese...

Well, as Miko said, Azure City is specifically NOT Japan. Maybe it's just me, but you guys are overthinking this a little bit. Azure city is just generally asian, it's not representative of any particular country. Some aspects of the city are Japanese (ninjas, samurai, some names) others are chinese (the 12 gods = zodiac, dragon at parade) others are Korean (the names mentioned here being the most obvious). As has been mentioned, very little research is required to familiarize oneself with the basic aspects and names of a culture, thanks to the internet.

[Xilehxt]

Yes, the names aren't that common. Names like Soon, with single syllables are even rarer. Mijung's pretty common, but then O-chul is....I don't think I know anyone named that. Sangwaan was a name favored around the 70's in Korea, don't think anyone names their kids Sangwaan anymore.

Yeah, Azure City is just a generally oriental part of the the OOTSverse. But the point was that we're seeing quite alot of Korean names...while sad to admit, Koreans aren't really that recognized yet in the US. Everyone asks, "Chinese? Japanese? Hmm...Korean?" Somewhat in that order. So I'm just curious why there would be sorta rare Korean names in a webcomic by an author who lives in Pennsylvania.

[Xilehxt]

Huh, the Paladin chick's name is not Asian. Lien...Lien...hmmm. No idea where that popped up from.

1d100

[SPoD]

"Lien" is a Vietnamese name.

Last strip's "Sangwaan" is also Thai, incidentally.

[Xilehxt]

Ah, and this is where my theory breaks apart. I guess he is just using random names he finds on the net.