Hanguk
/ha̠ːn.ɡuk̚/noun
The Korean name commonly used in South Korea for Korea, especially the Republic of Korea.
Did you know?The first element, Han, connects modern 한국 to the ancient Samhan polities—Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan—rather than simply meaning “Korean.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient China
Old Chinese
韓
“Han; the name of an ancient state and later an ethnonym associated with peoples and polities in East Asia”
Ancient Korea
Korean historical usage
삼한 (Samhan)
“The Three Han confederacies: Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
國 *kwək
“State, kingdom, or country”
Early Korean
Sino-Korean
한 (han) + 국 (guk)
“Han plus country/state, forming the compound “Han country””
Late 19th–Early 20th Century
Korean
한국 (Hanguk)
“A modern national name for Korea, increasingly used alongside the older name Joseon”
Modern English
Korean romanization
Hanguk
“The standard Revised Romanization of 한국, commonly referring to South Korea in contemporary usage”
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