My Name

What’s in a name?

William Shakesspeare said, "What's in name, that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". In Asian culture, the name is important. My Korean name is very unique. My surname is Hwang, it means Yellow in Korean, truthful in Chinese and pure in Japanese. I am in confusion since my name was made. The word "Hwang" flustered my head. Why do I have to be a yellow person? I always resent my parents because I want my surname to be like Kim, Choi or something else that is not unique at all. My first name is Jun Beom, and it is also kind of unique. My surname Hwang is just a dugong because there are only a few people in the entire of the world with surname Hwang. However, I like my first name more than my family name. Jun means handsome, and Beom means that someone who is law-abiding. I hope when I grow up, I'll be exactly like my name-handsome and law-abiding.

I had always wanted to ask my mom questions about surname but I couldn't. I had a weary look, so my mother looked at me and said that she thought that I was a hyena, who lost its prey. How did I get this name? Why didn’t you make my name better? Wasn’t there enough time to really mull over my name? Those questions were hovering in my head. I did not know what to do. Should I ask my parents? If I asked them, would they listen to me and explain to me. Later, I found something sensational about my name. It was the historical story. There was a person whose surname was Hwang and he was a high official in China. The king of China ordered him to go to Japan but instead of going to Japan, he went to Korea and settled there and started the Hwang community. I am a descendant of this great Chinese man.

Although I like my first name better than my last name, I don't really like my first name very much. The name doesn’t suit with me because I am not handsome and I also hate following laws just like I hate cockroach. If I have a chance to change my name, I want to be called by Park Ji Ho because I just like the sound of the name since I was a middle school student. I have no idea why I want to be called Park Ji Ho. Even though I think this way, I respect my parents who gave me my name and adore me.