Seong, also spelled Song or Sung, is an uncommon

Korean family name This is a list of Korean surnames, in Hangul alphabetical order. Note: (S) denotes South Korea. (N) denotes North Korea. The most common Korean family name (particularly in South Korea) is Kim, followed by Lee and Park. These three family nam ...

, a single-syllable Korean given name, as well as a common element in two-syllable Korean given names. The meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

Family name

The family name Seong is written with only one hanja, meaning "succeed" or "accomplish" (). The 2000 South Korean Census found 167,903 people with this family name, up by six percent from 158,385 in the 1985 census. This increase was far smaller than the fifteen percent growth in the overall South Korean population over the same period. They traced their origins to only a single ''

bon-gwan Bon-gwan (or Bongwan) is the concept of clan in Korea, which is used to distinguish clans that happen to share the same family name (clan name). Since Korea has been traditionally a Confucian country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chine ...

'', Changnyeong County. This was also the place where they formed the highest concentration of the local population, with 2,360 people (3.61%). In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 67.4% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Sung in their passports. The Revised Romanisation spelling Seong was in second place at 29.4%. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 3.2%) included Seung, Shung, and the Yale Romanisation spelling Seng.

Government and politics

Seong Sam-mun Seong Sam-mun (1418 — 8 June 1456) was a scholar-official of early Joseon who rose to prominence in the court of King Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450). He was executed after being implicated in a plot to dethrone King Sejo (r. 1455–1468) and ...

(1418–1456), Joseon Dynasty official *

Seong Seung General Seong Seung ( ? - 1456) was a Korean Joseon Dynasty politician and soldier. His pen name was Jukgok, father of Seong Sam-mun.

(died 1456), Joseon Dynasty official * Seong Huian (1461–1513), Joseon Dynasty official * Seong Hon (1535–1598), Joseon Dynasty official *

Ui-bin Seong Royal Noble Consort Ui of the Changnyeong Seong clan (Hangul: 의빈 성씨, Hanja: 宜嬪成氏; 6 August 1753 – 4 November 1786) was a beloved concubine of King Jeongjo of Joseon and the mother of Crown Prince Munhyo. Biography Early lif ...

(1753–1786), Joseon Dynasty concubine *

Sung Jusik Sung Jusik ( Korean: 성주식; Hanja:成周寔; 1891 - 1959) is a Korean soldier, socialist independence activist at the time of Korea under Japanese rule and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In the time of Korea under ...

(1891–1956), Korean independence activist, later a North Korean politician * Seong Hye-rang (born 1935), North Korean defector * Sung Yun-mo (born 1963), South Korean politician *

Sung Jae-gi Sung Jae-gi ( ; September 11, 1967 – July 26, 2013) was a South Korean Men's rights movement, men's rights activist and anti-feminist. Sung founded and was the first chairman of Man of Korea, a men's rights group advocating the abolitio ...

(1967–2013), South Korean activist

Popular culture

* Sung Dong-il (born 1964), South Korean actor *

Sung Ji-ru Sung Ji-ru (born October 16, 1968) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Awards and nominations References External links * * * 1968 births Living people People from Gongju 20th-century Sout ...

(born 1968), South Korean actor *

Sung Hyun-ah Sung Hyun-ah (born July 23, 1975) is a South Korean actress and former Miss Korea. Biography Sung Hyun-ah placed second runner-up (or third place) at the Miss Korea pageant in 1994. She was the country's representative at the 1994 Miss Internati ...

(born 1975), South Korean actress * Sung Si-kyung (born 1979), South Korean ballad singer * Sung Yu-ri (born 1981), South Korean pop singer *

Sung Yu-bin Sung Yoo-bin (born 25 July 2000) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Web series Awards and nominations References External links * * * 2000 births Living people South Korean male televis ...

(born 2000), South Korean actor

Sport

* Sung Nak-woon (1923–1986), South Korean football forward *

Seong Nak-gun Seong Nak-gun (born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean sprinter. He competed in the men's 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Seong attended Busan Sports High School () and was active in track and field there. He went on to ...

(born 1962), South Korean sprinter *

Sung Han-kook Sung Han-kook (born November 19, 1963) is a former badminton player and coach from South Korea. Career Sung won the men's singles title at the 1986 U.S. Open Badminton Championships, U.S. Open and earlier that year, he won bronze at the Badmin ...

(born 1963), South Korean badminton player * Sung Jung-a (born 1965), South Korean basketball player *

Sung Kyung-hwa Sung Kyung-Hwa (Korean: 성경화; born July 20, 1965), also spelled as Seong Gyeong-hwa, is a South Korean team handball player and Olympic champion. She received a silver medal with the South Korean team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los An ...

(born 1965), South Korean handball player *

Sung Hee-jun Sung Hee-Jun (born 8 June 1974) is a retired South Korea long jumper. He finished sixteenth at the 1995 Summer Universiade and fourth at the 1998 Asian Games. He also competed at the 1992 World Junior Championships, the 1996 Olympic Games, the ...

(born 1974), South Korean long jumper * Sung Han-soo (born 1976), South Korean football forward (K League 1) * Sung Jong-hyun (born 1979), South Korean football defender (K League 1, China League One) * Sung Kyung-mo (born 1980), South Korean football goalkeeper (K League 1) * Sung Min (swimmer) (born 1982), South Korean swimmer * Sung Hyun-ah (footballer) (born 1982), South Korean football forward *

Seong Kyung-il Seong Kyung-Il ( ko, 성경일; born 1 March 1983) is a South Korean football player who currently plays as goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or k ...

(born 1983), South Korean football goalkeeper (K League 1) *

Sung Si-bak Sung Si-Bak (Hangul: 성시백, Hanja: 成始柏, ; born February 18, 1987, in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean short track speed skater. At the 2007 Winter Universiade, he won all five short track speed skating events. Sung has won more th ...

(born 1987), South Korean short track speed skater *

Seong Se-hyeon Seong Se-hyeon (born December 2, 1990) is a South Korean curling, curler. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics as the Third (curling), third on the South Korean men's team skipped by Kim Chang-min. References External links

* 1990 ...

(born 1990), South Korean curler * Sung Ji-hyun (born 1991), South Korean badminton player *

Sung Eun-ryung Sung Eun-ryung (born 14 April 1992 in Seoul) is a South Korean luger. Sung competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics for South Korea. In the Women's singles she placed 29th. She was also a part of the South Korean relay team, which finished 12th. ...

(born 1992), South Korean luger * Seong Eun-jeong (born 1999), South Korean professional golfer *

Sung Nak-so Sung Nak-so is a female former international table tennis player from South Korea. Table tennis career She won a silver medal in the Corbillon Cup (women's Team event) at the 1975 World Table Tennis Championships with Chung Hyun-sook, Lee Ailesa ...

, South Korean table tennis player

Other

* Seong Baek-in (born 1933), South Korean Tungusologist *

Dan Keun Sung Dan Keun Sung (born 19 July 1952) is a South Korean professor of electronic engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon. Sung was born in South Gyeongsang Province. He received his B.Sc. in electroni ...

(born 1952), South Korean electronic engineer *

Wonyong Sung Wonyong Sung (born 1955) is a South Korean professor of electronic and information engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). Sung received his B.S. in engineering from SNU in 1978 and his M.S. in the same field from KAIST in 1980. After work ...

(born ), South Korean professor of electronic and information engineering *

Jung Mo Sung Jung Mo Sung (born 1957) is a Roman Catholic lay theologian trained in theology, ethics, and education. He works within the paradigm of liberation theology and can be considered a "next generation" theologian-practitioner. He has served ...

(born 1957), South Korean-born Brazilian theologian *

Doris Sung Doris Kim Sung (born 1964 in Hollywood, California) is a Korean American architect and educator. Sung serves as the Director of the Undergraduate Programs at the USC School of Architecture starting in 2020. Education Sung graduated from Princeto ...

(born 1964), American educator of Korean descent * Seung-Yong Seong (born 1965), South Korean immunologist * Kiwan Sung (born 1967), South Korean poet *

Hugh Sung Hugh Sung (born September 25, 1968) is a Korean-American classical pianist. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sung began studying the piano with his mother at the age of three. At the age of eight, he began private studies with Ele ...

(born 1968), American classical pianist of Korean descent * Shi-Yeon Sung (born 1975), South Korean classical conductor *

Steve Sung Suk-Min "Steve" Sung (born 1985) is a South Korean professional poker player residing in Torrance, California who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and a three time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships. Sung was bo ...

(born 1985), South Korean poker player *

Mikyung Sung Mikyung Sung (Korean Language, Korean: , sometimes spelled Mikyung Soung, born September 1, 1993 in Seoul, South Korea) is a classical double bass player. Education Born into a musical family, Mikyung Sung first studied piano and cello, then sta ...

(born 1993), South Korean double bass player *

Lea Seong Lea Seong is a South Korean born fashion designer. Education Seong graduated from Chung-Ang University in South Korea and has a bachelor's degree from Parsons School of Design in New York City. Career Combining both Asian and Western styles, sh ...

, South Korean fashion designer

Fictional characters

*Seong Chun-hyang, the title character of the folk tale '' Chunhyangjeon'' * Seong Mi-na, in Japanese fighting game series ''Soul'' *Sung Jinwoo, protagonist of the South Korean light novel and manhwa, '' Solo Leveling'' *Seong Gi-hun, the main character of the television series '' Squid Game''

In given names

Hanja

, regulations of the Supreme Court of Korea permit the following 24 hanja with the reading Seong, plus six variant forms, to be registered for use in given names. Ten characters from the table of basic hanja for educational use: # (): "family name" # (): "character", "personality" # (): "accomplish" #* ''(variant)''This variant uses in place of the hook stroke used in the standard form.This is officially listed as a separate character in Schedule 1 of the regulations, rather than a variant form in Schedule 2 of the regulations. # (): "castle" #* ''(variant)'' # (): "sincere" #* ''(variant)'' # (): "abundant" #* ''(variant)'' # (): "to observe" # (): "sage" # (): "voice" # (): "star" Fourteen characters from the table of additional hanja for name use: # (): name of a kind of jade # (): "beautiful" # (): "brightness of jade" # (): "to realise" # (): "to awaken" # (): "library" # (): "

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the gen ...

" # (): "reed" # (): "rotting meat" # (): "property", "valuables" # (): "victory" # (): "bright" #* ''(variant)'' #* ''(variant)''This variant form is not yet encoded in Unicode. #: "sharp hearing"This character is part of the CJK Unified Ideographs Extension B block and might not be displayed or printed properly. It consists of the ear radical and a character meaning "star" (). # (): "red horse"

People

People with the monosyllabic given name Seong include: *Seong Gi (died 108 BC), Gojoseon general killed during the Han conquest of Gojoseon * Seong of Baekje (–554), 26th king of Baekje * Seong of Balhae (died 795), 5th ruler of the kingdom of Balhae * Jin Xing (; born 1967), Chinese ballet dancer of Korean descent

As name element

Many names starting with this element have been popular names for newborn baby boys in earlier decades, according to South Korean government data: *1940: Sung-ki (9th place) *1950: Sung-soo (3rd place) and Sung-ho (6th place) *1960: Sung-ho (1st place) and Sung-soo (7th place) *1970: Sung-ho (2nd place), Sung-jin (3rd place), Sung-hoon (5th place), and Sung-min (8th place) *1980: Sung-min (2nd place) and Sung-hoon (6th place) *1990: Sung-min (3rd place) and Sung-hyun (4th place) Other names containing beginning with this element include: * Sung-chul (masculine) * Sung-ha (masculine) * Seong-han (unisex) *

Sung-hee Seong-hui or Sung-hee, also spelled Song-hui in North Korea, is a Korean unisex given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 27 hanja with the reading " sung" and 24 hanja with the reading ...

(unisex) * Seong-ja (feminine) * Sung-keun (masculine) * Seong-gyeong (unisex) * Sung-mi (feminine) * Sung-nam (masculine) * Sung-sook (feminine) * Sung-woo (masculine) *

Sung-yong Sung-yong, also spelled Seng-yong in the Yale transcription system or Seong-yong in Revised Romanization, is a Korean masculine given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. Hanja There are 27 hanja ...

(masculine) Other names ending with this element include: *

Dae-sung Kang Dae-sung (Hangul: 강대성; born April 26, 1989), better known mononymously as Daesung and his Japanese stage name D-Lite, is a South Korean singer, actor and television personality who made his musical debut in 2006 as a member of the Sou ...

(masculine) * Hae-seong (masculine) * Hee-sung (unisex) * Hye-sung (unisex) * Il-sung (masculine) * Jae-sung (masculine) *

Jin-sung Jin-sung, also spelled Jin-seong, is a Korean unisex given name. The meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 48 hanja with the reading " jin" and 27 hanja with the reading " sung" and on the South Kor ...

(unisex) *

Oh-seong Oh-seong, also spelled Oh-sung, is a Korean masculine given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 33 hanja with the reading "oh" and 27 hanja with the reading "seong" on the South Korean go ...

(masculine) *

Tae-sung Tae-seong, also spelled Tae-sung or Thae-song, is a Korean masculine given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 20 hanja with the reading " tae" and 27 hanja with the reading "seong" on ...

(masculine) * Woo-sung (masculine)

Notes

References

{{given name, type=both Korean-language surnames