right away im gonna say that i don’t speak korean this is just what ive dug up through hours of researching help me
SPOILER WARNING
Pointer: In Korean, the last name is spoken and written before the first name (ex: Han Jumin). I’ll be translating in order of ln/fn.
Jumin Han:
The surname “Han” is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese character “hén”, which means “bitterness”, “resentment”, and “animosity”, amongst a couple other terms. You get the gist.
The surname “Han” also is in reference to Korea and the name of a Chinese kingdom, and can also mean “leader”. This ties in with Jumin’s character, since Jumin runs the business alongside Mr. Chairman, his father.
The name “Jumin” can be dissected into a couple different terms and meanings. The Korean character “ju” means “pillar” or “circumference”, while “min” means “streaks in jade” or “(autumn) sky”. The meaning “pillar” would make sense, since it can be seen that Jumin primarily keeps the business afloat.
Other sources claim that the first name “Jumin” means “Heavenly”, or “Gift of God” from a Korean origin. It is also said that “Jumin” means “stability”, “responsibility”, and “routine”, but sources remained unknown of the origin (meaning that the meaning might not be derived from Korea).
The last translation to me is personally what makes the most sense out of any of these translations, because even though the game consists of very religious undertones (making the religious meaning of the name “Jumin” more plausible), Jumin does not practice his religion and wear it on his sleeve.
Jaehee Kang:
The last name “Kang” takes on the meaning of the term “ginger” (??). The last name “Kang” is very popular, so I wasn’t personally expecting anything too meaningful.
The name “Jaehee” doesn’t have much of a meaning directed towards the character, either (which I was sort of disappointed with). The name “Jaehee” simply means “to exist”, and in other translations, takes on the conjoined terms “limericks” and “river”, which doesn’t make any sense, and definitely doesn’t explain anything personal about her character at all.
The translation “to exist” would make the most sense, since in all honesty, Jaehee doesn’t play much of an important part in the game. Even when playing Jaehee’s route, the MC never experiences a romance of any sort, where in the Casual and Deep Story, you are able to romance all other characters. I personally feel as if Jaehee was only added to the story to create a different perspective for the MC to understand and read about, as well as adding in more characters with diverse personalities.
Hyun Ryu (Zen):
Zen’s surname, “Ryu”, is also a very well known name that many families share. “Ryu”, can also be translated as the surname “Yoo” or “You”. “Ryu” means “masculine”, “initiative”, and “assertive”. These terms tie in well with Zen’s character.
Zen’s real name is actually “Hyun”– Zen is only a stage name, not a birth name. “Hyun”, meaning “profound”, “virtuous”, “worthy”, and “able”, reflecting Zen’s character well.
There wasn’t much else that I could find when it came to Zen’s name besides the fact that his surname, “Ryu”, is actually more derivative of Japanese culture and language than that of Korean culture and language.
Yoosung Kim:
This is actually one of my favorite translations. I find it sweet.
The surname “Kim” is again, a very popular and well-known surname in Korea. “Kim” directly translates to “gold” and “metal”.
The first name “Yoosung” takes on a couples different meanings. Firstly, “Yoosung” can be translated as “beautiful child” and “innocent and pure with a hidden side”. The last translation partially explains Yoosung’s character on behalf of his yandere and possessive tendencies towards the MC while he continues to be deredere (head over heels in love with) the MC all at the same time.
Secondly, the name “Yoosung” can also be translated as “shooting star”, which holds a Korean origin. This explains why Yoosung’s LOLOL user is “Shooting Star ★”!
Saeyoung Choi (707, Luciel):
Besides Yoosung, this was my favorite name to translate.
The surname “Choi” means “pinnacle” or “mountain”, as well as “top” or “most”. Choi is also a common Korean surname.
If you didn’t know, 707′s name actually isn’t 707 nor Luciel! Saeyoung, 707′s birth name, is uncovered further into gameplay. Saeyoung tells the RFA + the MC that his name is actually Luciel, but that is false information– Luciel is only a baptismal name that 707 gave the others to cover up his true identity.
Surprisingly, all three names carry a very distinct meaning. The name “707″ is derived from “Error 707″, which is primarily memory corruption or an Adaptive Server problem on a computer. This name points the direction of the story closer to the popular “reset theory”, in which 707 is actually self aware and is there for every single time you reset the game and play other routes, also including his own.
The baptismal name “Luciel” also is important to Saeyoung’s character. “Luciel” is an equivalent to Lucifer, or Satan. Cheritz intended to make this so to show the player that Saeyoung has a life that will not end with him becoming a fallen angel. If this doesn’t make sense, know that Satan was actually one of God’s right hand men until he disobeyed him and was cast down into Hell, therefore earning him the name Satan/The Devil. This ties in with Saeyoung’s character since Saeyoung finds himself to be chaotic and evil, while he is actually a good person on the inside.
Ironically, Saeyoung’s real name is pretty straightforward. “Saeyoung” directly translated in Korean means “gift of God”.
Jihyun Kim (V):
See translation for “Kim” above.
Honestly, if the name “V” has a meaning, I don’t know it. I don’t want to look into the meaning of that particular name since I haven’t gotten to play V’s route yet, and I’m guessing that they explain it there.
“Ji” translates to “wisdom” and “intellect”, as well as “will” and “purpose”. “Hyun” also means “worthy” and “able”, as seen above.
I can’t give solid information on how these translations tie into V’s character since again, I have not played any routes in Another Story.
Rika (surname not found):
Again, I don’t know the ins and outs of Rika’s character since I have not played Another Story, and have only completed Secret Ending 01.
After searching everywhere for a Korean meaning, I was not able to find one. The only translation for “Rika” I found was “forever strong”, which is derived from Norse origins. It has been said that people with this name are seen as lovers of the arts, have good leadership qualities, and can have reckless energies. All of these qualities seem to reflect off of Rika’s character.
The translation “forever strong” could have two meanings– one of which is drastically more sinister than the next. The first meaning I thought of was that Rika will be forever strong as she continues living with a mental illness, but this does not make much sense since she only lets her insanity fester and take over. The second meaning could possibly be that she is forever strong like a god, and immortal and never-ending like how a god is portrayed to be. I took this into mind since she is the cult leader for Mint Eye.
Saeran Choi (Unknown):
Saeran’s name was probably the hardest to translate. I still don’t have much to show for it.
See translation for “Choi” above.
“Saeran” can be directly translated to “three” or “bird”. I don’t necessarily get the “bird” part, but “three” could be in reference to the signs of the cross (the father, the son, and the holy spirit) since Catholicism has a huge role in the gameplay. “Three” could even be in reference to Saeran’s “family”: V, Rika, and Saeran himself.
I saw a website that said that Saeran meant “powerful chaos”, while Saeyoung meant “powerful hero” (meaning that the relationship between Saeran and his brother is that of a yin-yang relationship). Those translations make more sense than the ones I found.
Saeran’s other name, “Unknown”, has no other meaning except for the fact that the RFA didn’t know who the hacker and MC’s stalker was. The name “Unknown” was also used in certain RFA chatrooms as well at the mandatory start of the game in which Unknown leads you to Rika’s apartment.
Design, patterns and sewing made by me. The dress is renaissance inspired, with some personal modifications. The whole dress was hand sewn, including the hems. More pictures of it and a tutorial can be found on my blog.
I can’t even begin to express how beautiful this is
