‘Hangang River,’ not 'Han River': Seoul city

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated on Tuesday that the correct English name for the river running through the capital city, commonly referred to as the “Han River,” is the “Hangang River.”

The recent announcement comes as the city government aims to address the ongoing confusion caused by the mixed usage of both terms.

Known as Hangang in Korean -- "gang" meaning "river" -- the 508-kilometer-long waterway is a major national landmark and a popular tourist attraction.

In 2010, the city government established the Improvement and Promotion Plan for Foreign Language Notation of Facilities and Promotional Materials in Hangang Park. As a part of this plan, the official English name of the river was standardized as Hangang River to convey the accurate name to domestic and international tourists.

Also, in 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reinforced this standardization by enacting the Guidelines for the Translation and Notation of Public Terms in Foreign Languages. According to the guidelines, geographic names should be written in Roman letters, in full, with their attributes translated after. For example, the Han River should be written as Hangang River, while Hallasan on Jeju Island should be written as Hallasan Mountain.