I have told you my real name before, Wietske. However I have another name that I frequently use. Kang Seungmi. Kang Seungmi is my Korean name, if you have watched the video above you will know how I got that name. Now I will tell you how I got my last name.
My Korean last name is a whole other story and I only obtained it 2 months after I got my first name. I never imagined having a Korean first name, let alone a last name. I love my Dutch name, it’s unique and I think it truly reflects on who I am. I never wanted a Korean name, and I put up with all the butchering of my name because I would never ever ask someone to give me a Korean one.
Then my Korean name was given to me and I used it on a daily basis, if people couldn’t remember my name I told them just to call me Seungmi and that’s that. I didn’t even think about adding a last name.
Then on the day one of my best friends flew back to the Netherlands something interesting happened. She really didn’t want to leave, and rather leave with me. I would be flying back a week later and totally understood how she felt.
She cried and told me I should also leave that day, to ease her pain. Although I did want to ease the pain leaving Korea is something I hate and I would never ever think about leaving early. She knows that too, told me it was okay and then she fetched the freshly printed ticket from the machine. However she did not get one but 2 tickets. Someone must have forgotten her ticket, a person called Seungmi, Kang Seungmi.
And from that very day onwards I was not just Seungmi, I was Kang Seungmi. Me and my friends still laugh about this and she still complains that I should have left that day with her. She had my ticket so why did I stay!
Tell me, do you guys have a Korean name? tell me what it is and how you got it, I would love to hear some more interesting stories!
Love, Wietske
LifeLoveKorea 