geun

Geun is a Korean syllable used primarily in given names. Hangul 근 is pronounced roughly as geun, similar to the English word gun with a short vowel. In modern Korean, Geun commonly appears as the first syllable of a two-syllable given name, such as Geun-hye or Geun-tae, though it can also occur in other name positions. The meaning of Geun depends on the hanja written for it; there are several hanja readings geun, among them 根 meaning root, 近 meaning near, and 勤 meaning diligence. Because different characters carry different meanings, the chosen hanja determines the name’s meaning.

In everyday use, Geun is one of many phonetic syllables used in Korean names and does not carry a single fixed meaning on its own. The syllable has historical and contemporary presence in Korea and among Korean communities abroad.

Notable individuals: Park Geun-hye, born 1952, is a prominent bearer of a name containing Geun; she served as the president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017. Other individuals with Geun in their given names exist in various fields, reflecting its continued use in contemporary Korean naming practice.

See also: The Revised Romanization of Korean renders 근 as Geun; the McCune–Reischauer system would render it Kŭn. The syllable is related to other Korean name elements such as 건 (geon) and 근 (geun) in two-syllable names.

---