The values of surname in Korean and Javanese societies

Abstract

The objective of this research is to examine the values of surname in Korean and Javanese societies by looking at the impact of colonization in both societies resulted to the social structures that assumingly shaped the pattern of surname usage in Korean and Javanese societies. Giving the background that the surname usage pattern in Korean is exceptional where only limited lines of surname used by most Koreans, they are Kim, Lee, and Park. Meanwhile in Javanese society, most Javanese do not have surname which is also unique compared to other societies. The research was conducted by doing documentary analysis to find the answers why such things happened. The result showed that, colonization is not the main factor that affected the use of surname in Korean and Javanese society. Koreans have been using Korean surname in the same pattern since centuries ago until today although during Japanese colonization Koreans were forced to use Japanese name. As for Javanese society, Javanese do not recognize the use of surname even before colonizer came to Java. Javanese people do not see any significance of using or not using surname in their life although for some nobility, surname was used to show that they are higher in status than the commoner Javanese. Seen from its use of surname, Korean society is still strongly adapting patriarchal society in social structure and Javanese people are having more egalitarian social structure. Limited lines of name in Korean society means that among millions of Koreans, only around 300 surnames are widely used. It is because after the collapsed of Choson Dynasty, many Koreans tried to upgrade their social status by buying high social status surname like Kim and Lee. In the past, surname was closely related to social status, but not anymore today in Korea. The decision to keep using Korean surname even after Japanese “assimilation policy” showed Koreans’ national pride; everything might be taken from Korea, but not their identity as Korean. There are many choices for naming in Javanese because there is no agreed pattern in giving name to Javanese babies. With the absence of family surname, Javanese still understand that man is the leader in the family. Many Javanese nowadays do not want to use surname, even if they come from famous family because they do not want to create a gap in society. They want to be seen as who they really are, not from their family surname or family reputation. However, some Javanese consider giving surname to their offspring to make the children easier in tracking the family lineage or to make them easily filling in the legal international documents.