The New York Times recently reported that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has continued the North Korean leader tradition of keeping his Korean first name his, and his only.

The unknown number of Jong-un’s (정은), a common name for both genders, of North Korea must choose a new name. But not the Kims.  A move by the Dear Leader to leave all but one Kim in North Korea would be as ambition as any economic or regime overhaul in the country. However, in South Korea, the name–the origin of the name dating back centuries–is central to the culture.

Roughly half of the 75 million South Koreans (and the 7 million abroad) have one of three surnames (황): Kim, Lee, or Park. About a fifth are Kim. Even though a vast majority of Koreans have a two syllable given name–at times one, rarely 3–the combinations eventually overlap. South Korea only has about 250 surnames in use (China only about 100).  Nearby Japan has over 200,000 surnames in use, obviously making any match with a given name as unlikely as Western nations. But what really separates North Koreans and South Koreans in this sense is how the name affects marriage. In oppressive North Korea, it is not a cultural norm to think about the partner’s same surname or to research its origins, perhaps due to the communist nature and the very origin of surnames on the peninsula.

Just about every South Korean knows “what kind” of Kim or Park or Lee or Chan or Won or Oh they are. Gyongju Kim. Gimhae Park. Wonjo Won. These “regional clans” are called bon-gwons (본관). The cultural norm in South Korea is to ask your partner the origin of their family name. This origin could date back as late at the beginning of the Choseon Dynasty (조선왕조) in 1392. Typically, a Korean wouldn’t date, let alone marry, someone with the same last name; but this norm has slowly withered away in regards to dating. However, the latter hasn’t. As much as one might love their new partner, if both are Gyongju Kims it nearly implies they are committing incest. And surely there will be no family support for a marriage.

Korean surnames became common at the foundation of the Choseon Dynasty. Prior to that, only the elite had surnames. Families typically adopted these three most common names, perhaps, to hid their humble or impoverished heritage and take a more prestigious last name. (Even today, just about all Koreans can write their name in the Chinese-inspired hanja [한자], which shows the pre-Hangul era and ancient foundation is alive and well in the name).  From the very foundation of obtaining a family name, choosing the right clan–in themselves not very diverse in name–and therefore the surname to be associated with is perhaps why there is such little diversity.

When Koreans marry, it is a cultural norm that the wife keep her name but the children take that of the husband. However, if a Ms. Park marries a Mr. Lee, she could and would be generally referred to as “Mrs. Lee”. And these names carry importance beyond the civil life. The leaders of major corporations like Samsung are mostly Kims. The presidents of South Korea in the 1990s were Kims. The current and last presidents of Korea are Park and Lee, respectively. Even Psy is a Park (Park Jae-sang). Having an unusual or uncommon last name–or even first name or a name without the traditional three-parts–could perhaps have a conscious or sub-conscious affect on your ability to get the job.

So, whether you are teaching a class of 30 or meeting a group of business men for lunch, how do you proceed when everyone has similar last names and first names that sound similar? In my personal experience, it wasn’t hard to differentiate. (Koreans intentionally over-pronunciate their name in order for you to hear the difference between “Ji-hoo (지호) and “Ji-hoon” (지훈), two of the top 10 most popular names. Koreans, as you can imagine, are quite familiar with differentiated which one of the other three Mr. Parks you are referring to. (However, it is essential that you say, for example, Kim Hyo-jung rather than just Hyo-jung, which comes off as too familiar or rude, even in a casual setting.)

The North Korean Kim Dynasty will do nothing to deter the surnames importance in the South. However, as to what stigma Jong-un will take on in the south is unknown. But a Kim in South Korea will be quick to point out his bon-gwong  is of the Gwangju (광주) Kim clan, and not the Pyongyang (평양) one.