The name “Korea” comes from the Westernization of the name “Goryeo” (Koryŏ) with which the Korean kingdom was identified from 918 to 1392. A curious peculiarity is that already Marco Polo In the Million he had talked about Korea, calling it "Corai" (Cauli). In reality, he personally had never been to this place, probably the name he handed down to us refers precisely to koryŏ, the state ruled by the dynasty Wang, who ruled Korea at that time.
The adjective "Southern" only serves to distinguish this part of the country from its "Northern" counterpart after the division of the entire nation in two in 1945 by Western powers. Therefore this name is considered only as unofficial and is used only in Western countries, while it is rarely mentioned in Asian countries.
However the legal name of the country is Daehanminguk. Dae (대) means big. Han (한) is the term with which Koreans have traditionally identified themselves since ancient times (not to be confused with the Han Chinese, considered to be of a different ethnicity). Min (민) means people and Guk (국) country. Therefore Daehanminguk literally means “the country of the great Korean people”.
Koreans often refer to their homeland with the abbreviated term “Hanguk” which, today, stands for “Korean country”.
Barbara Banchero
premium canva photo credit