This game has many variations! I hope it doesn’t get too confusing! If I get anything wrong (culturally speaking) please let me know and I’ll change it!
First things first:
- Korean names are composed of a surname and given name and no middle name. The surname is written first.
- Given names are generally composed of only two syllables and though there are exceptions, this game follows the two-syllable style.
- Married women keep their maiden name when they get married, but any children they have are given their husband’s surname.
#1 - NAME THE PARENTS
For each spouse’s last name roll the 4-sided die.
1: [name_u]Kim[/name_u], [name_m]Park[/name_m], Oh, [name_m]Lim[/name_m], Choi, Jung, [name_f]Moon[/name_f], [name_u]Lee[/name_u], and [name_f]Ro[/name_f] (Popular Surnames)
2: Na, [name_u]Min[/name_u], Byun, Song, [name_m]Chin[/name_m], Gho, Nam, Hyon, and Yang (Common Surnames)
3: [name_f]Do[/name_f], Wang, [name_f]Sun[/name_f], Myong, Tung, Yin, Tak, [name_m]Pan[/name_m], and [name_m]Yee[/name_m] (Familiar Surnames)
4: Muk, [name_f]Su[/name_f], Woon, Ru, [name_u]Po[/name_u], [name_m]Gun[/name_m], and Cho (Rare Surnames)
For each spouse’s given name roll the 10-sided die. Male names appear before the “/” and female names appear after.
1: Wonho or Hyunsik or Seokjin / Sohyun or Jinye or Eunbi
2: Kibum or Jeonghan or Hoseok / Sunmi or Dayoung or Jiyoon
3: Minseok or Jinyoung or Namjoon / Soobin or Yulhee or Hyerim
4: Daesung or Taehyung or Junmyeon / Sojung or Hyejin or Chaeyoung
5: Ryeowook or Jiyong or Kyungsoo / Seulgi or Nayeon or Yerim
6: Yoongi or Chanyeol or Taeil / Sooyoung or Yubin or Dahyun
7: Jiho or Taemin or Jongdae / Soyeon or [name_f]Yuna[/name_f] or Jisoo
8: Seunghyun or Jooheon or Mingyu / Sunyoung or Gayoon or Yujeong
9: Yugyeom or Minhyuk or Hansol / Seungwan or Yongsun or Jiyeon
10: Heechul or Jaebum or Kihyun / Solbin or Juyeon or Haein
#2 - CHILDREN
Normally Korean families are on the small size, with 1-3 children in most cases. You can follow that structure if you like, or roll the 6-sided die for the number of children in the family. After choosing the number of children, roll again to determine gender. Odd numbers are boys, even numbers are girls.
There are different Korean naming systems. One is generational naming, in which all members of a generation share the same first or second syllable in their given name, called a “Dollimja”. If you wish to name the children this way, roll once in the Dollimja name bank then roll for each child in either the First Syllable or Second Syllable name banks.
The other naming method is for each child to have a unique name. If you wish to name the children this way, roll once in the First Syllable and Second Syllable name banks for each child.
For the Dollimja name bank, first syllables are before the “/” and second syllables are after.
Dollimja
1: Seong or Eun or Ji / min or jung or soo
2: Sang or Da or Yeon / hyun or joo or lim
3: Mi or Seo or [name_m]Young[/name_m] / sun or young or eun
4: Myung or Soo or Ye / yoon or min or hae
5: Hyun or [name_u]Min[/name_u] or [name_u]Si[/name_u] / soo or lim or young
6: Yoon or Jung or [name_u]Tae[/name_u] / hyun or eun or sung
For the following name banks, male syllables are before the “/” and female syllables are after.
First Syllable
1: Kyung or Ho or [name_u]Jae[/name_u] / [name_f]Sun[/name_f] or [name_m]Yu[/name_m] or Chae
2: Nam or Kyu or [name_f]Do[/name_f] / So or Chun or [name_f]Hye[/name_f]
3: Kwang or [name_f]Moon[/name_f] or Seok / In or [name_u]Tae[/name_u] or Da
4: [name_f]Jin[/name_f] or Yong or Jeong / Hyo or Seong or Ji
5: Sung or [name_f]Ki[/name_f] or [name_m]Jun[/name_m] / Mi or Yeo or Eun
6: Hee or Joo or Won / Hyun or Yoon or Go
Second Syllable
1: hyuk or chul or gun / yeon or jung or sook
2: hun or ki or dae / hee or chae or ha
3: ho or il or sun / in or ja or mi
4: seok or yong or woo / ji or hwa or ok
5: jin or hwan or tae / ra or soo or young
6: soo or jun or geun / hye or bin or a(h)
[name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to add ages and descriptions!