Confusing Revised Roman Notation

“Yon can enjoy World Cup Games not in Pusan but in Busan.”

British weekly Economist reported (June 1st) that the new Roman notation that the Cabinet council passed in July 2002 confuses visitors in Korea for World Cup. K, T, P, and CH are changed to G, D, B, and J by the revised notation.

Some tourists carrying old tour’s guide booklets are searching for Pusan in Busan, as they cannot distinguish Pusan from Busan. In addition to Busan, other cities hosting the games also changed its notation, for example, Taegu to Daegu, Kwangju to Gwangju, and Cheonju to Jeonju. Hence, tourists’ guide sites on the web usually offer old and new notations together.

Roman notation had been changed by the scholars of Korean, who insisted, “words should be written as they sound.”

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