Koreans creative with baby names

Father Peter Ku Byong-chin hesitated when one of his parishioners asked if she could change her baptismal when she received the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The reasons she gave were that she could not find out anything about her supposed patron saint and also felt her baptismal name, Bbonania in Korean, sounded "dull."

Eventually, the priest of Yangduk Cathedral in Masan found out from parish records her baptismal name was Paulina, but her parents misspelled this in Korean when she was baptized as an infant. Father Ku, 62, related this story in the Nov. 2 issue of Pyeonghwa Shinmun, the Seoul archdiocese-run weekly.

Speaking with UCA News on Dec. 3, he said he generally disagrees with changing one's baptismal name. For this, he added, a Catholic should choose the name of a saint, whether foreign or Korean, rather than a "secular" name.

Sister Jung-hee Kuk, serving at a Seoul parish, is an example of someone who prefers a Korean name. When the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan nun made her temporary vows in 1997, she changed her baptismal name, Lydwina, to Jung-hee.

"As a Korean I wanted to have a Korean saint's name for my consecrated life. Fortunately, I found a Korean saint who has the same name as my secular name, Jung-hee," she told UCA News on Dec. 3. "Actually, the saint had her own baptismal name, Barbara," the nun continued, "but her Korean name is enough for my faith life."

Saint Yi Chong-hui was beheaded in 1839, a time of persecution, because she showed her rosary to a government official. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1984.

Moses Kang Chang-heon, 44, has a different view of baptismal names. For the layman from Incheon, just west of Seoul, what matters is the meaning of the name, rather than whether it is the name of a saint or not. Both his son and daughter have baptismal names that are not saints' names, his daughter's being Min-young, which means to live life reflecting God's love.

Kang told UCA News on Dec. 3 that his children's names have profound Christian meanings. He also admitted that he likes "familiar Korean names."  "I think a Korean name can be more meaningful as a baptismal name than a foreign saint's name, such as Peter," he remarked. "Who knows, my children may become saints."

A survey conducted several years ago among professionals indicated that baptismal names were the "most Western aspect" of Catholicism in South Korea.

John Park Il-young, professor of religious studies at Catholic University of Korea, conducted the 2003 survey on the modern history of the Korean Catholic Church. The 200 respondents comprised professors, lawyers, senior civil servants, researchers and other professionals of all religions.

Asked what is the most Western aspect of the local Church, 48.4 percent of respondents said Catholic baptismal names, followed by the liturgy (14.6 percent), church architecture (9.4 percent), names of religious institutes and devotional groups (8.3 percent) and others.

For Father Jesus Mary Joseph Park Sung-koo, founder of the Brothers of Little Jesus and Sisters of Little Jesus, his long name reflects his institutes' charism. He said all members of the two congregations are asked to add the name "Jesus" to their baptismal names when they make their final vows.

Father Andrew Pak Hui-jung, a canon law professor at Incheon Catholic University, clarified that the Code of Canon Law does not mention changing one's baptismal name. But in his view, a baptismal name cannot be changed because it is recorded in the baptismal register.

Speaking to UCA News on Dec. 4, he said Korean Religious typically take on another saint's name when they take their temporary or final vows. On using local rather than Western names as a baptismal name, Father Pak said this is allowed if they contain Christian sensibility. Canon 855 of the Code of Canon Law says, "Parents, sponsors and the pastor are to take care that a name foreign to Christian sensibility is not given."