The Joongang-Ilbo article focused on Pusan v. Busan. I've taught in a local high school for two years; and though it's a very close call, Pusan (with a P) is closer to my students' actual pronunciation.
Beyond that, however, there needs to be some allowance for what looks good versus what does not. Pusan is way cool, a left-coast port city not unlike San Francisco with a rich history, narrow streets and old architecture (it wasn't wrecked in the War), a major film festival, the best beach or beaches, hot springs, and baseball fans in Korea if not all of Northeast Asia, and first-rate universities and university districts. "Busan" on the other hand is a container port in Asia.
I'm sure nobody feels the need to start this whole debate up again on here, but clearly MR is more accurate in terms of pronounciation, as WeikuBoy alluded to.
I just wish they wouldn't talk about "writing Korean in English" in national news, when that's clearly impossible. It's Romanization of Korean - it doesn't stop being Korean and suddenly become English, and the Roman alphabet is used by many languages.
2 comments:
Nice work, Brian.
The Joongang-Ilbo article focused on Pusan v. Busan. I've taught in a local high school for two years; and though it's a very close call, Pusan (with a P) is closer to my students' actual pronunciation.
Beyond that, however, there needs to be some allowance for what looks good versus what does not. Pusan is way cool, a left-coast port city not unlike San Francisco with a rich history, narrow streets and old architecture (it wasn't wrecked in the War), a major film festival, the best beach or beaches, hot springs, and baseball fans in Korea if not all of Northeast Asia, and first-rate universities and university districts. "Busan" on the other hand is a container port in Asia.
I'm sure nobody feels the need to start this whole debate up again on here, but clearly MR is more accurate in terms of pronounciation, as WeikuBoy alluded to.
I just wish they wouldn't talk about "writing Korean in English" in national news, when that's clearly impossible. It's Romanization of Korean - it doesn't stop being Korean and suddenly become English, and the Roman alphabet is used by many languages.
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