Friday, August 17, 2018

Why would a Korean woman named 말숙 probably have a sister?

The Chinese character 淑 (숙) is pronounced "sook" in Korean and means clear, pure, or virtuous. For example, 숙녀 (淑女) means a lady, and 정숙 (貞淑) means chaste or virtuous, so many Korean parents have used 淑 (숙) as one of the usually two characters used to create the names of daughters.

Han Moo-sook (한무숙 - 韓戊淑), for example, was a famous Korean female writer who lived from 1918 until 1993. She had an elder brother named Han Bok (한복 - 韓宓) and a younger sister named Han Mal-sook (한말숙 - 韓末淑), who was also a writer. The younger sister's name, 말숙 (末淑), means "the last (末) Sook (淑)," which implies the last daughter since 淑 (숙) is a common character used in the names of daughters.

If Korean parents name a daughter 말숙 (末淑), it means they want no more daughters, but it also implies the parents are disappointed they had another daughter instead of a son, which is why I would never name a daughter 말숙 (末淑).

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