"Clumsy Foreign Names Feel Outdated... Short and Simple Pure Korean Apartment Names Draw Attention [Real Estate AtoZ]"

With Foreign Nicknames Added, Complex Names Approach 10 Characters
Short, Pure Korean Names Emerge as a New Differentiator

'Eunma,' 'Jangmi,' 'Hanyang,' 'Gaenari.' Fifty years ago, apartment names in Korea were at most three syllables long. Today, the combination of local area names, construction company brands, and foreign nicknames has resulted in some apartment complexes with names exceeding 20 characters. As more consumers express fatigue over these increasingly complicated foreign-influenced names, short and easy-to-remember pure Korean names for apartment complexes are emerging as a new differentiating factor.

View of Hanyang Apartment in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

According to a study by the real estate market analysis firm Real Estate Info released on June 27, which analyzed the names of apartment complexes supplied nationwide between 2020 and May of this year, the average number of characters in the names of apartment complexes across the country reached 9.8. Complexes with names between 9 and 11 characters accounted for 42.7% of the total.

The trend toward longer names is primarily due to the use of "pet names" (nicknames). Construction companies add such nicknames before or after their brand names to emphasize the location or features of a complex. For example, “Park” is used if there is a park, “Foret” if there is a forest, “River” for proximity to a river, “Edu” for educational districts, and “Central” if the complex is close to the city center. The trend is not limited to English, as Latin, Italian, and German are also used to create these nicknames.

However, foreign words have not always dominated apartment signage. Even in the early days of apartments, and in certain new towns or some construction company brands, the tradition of using pure Korean names has continued. Successful examples include 1st generation new towns in the 1990s, such as Bundang (Hansol Maeul, Kkachi Maeul, Pureun Maeul), and apartment complexes built in Sejong City in the 2010s (Saetteum Maeul, Beomjigi Maeul, Garam Maeul), where native place names and pure Korean words were utilized for clear and intuitive names. Private construction companies and public institutions have also introduced Korean-named brands in the past, such as Kolon Global’s "Haneulchae," Kumho’s "Eoullim," Booyoung’s "Sarangeuro," and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)’s "Tteuranchai," which have gained widespread recognition.

However, as the perception grew that apartments needed English or other European-language names to be considered upscale, the use of pure Korean names gradually declined. For example, Hanwha’s "Kkumegeurin" was rebranded in 2019 to "Foretna," a name derived from Swedish.

Pure Korean Name Examples. Real Estate Info

As the competition for foreign-sounding names intensified and apartment names became excessively long, the distinctiveness between complexes diminished, while inconveniences for residents increased. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2022, 77.3% of respondents said that current apartment complex names are too long and complicated, causing inconvenience. Additionally, 60.3% of respondents considered 4 to 5 characters to be the ideal length for an apartment name. Thus, long foreign-language names, once seen as symbols of luxury, have instead become a source of fatigue for consumers.

In February 2024, the Seoul Metropolitan Government published the “New Guide for Naming Apartment Complexes,” providing guidelines such as limiting the use of difficult foreign words, utilizing native place names, restraining the use of pet names, keeping names within an appropriate length, and implementing procedures to reflect resident opinions. These are not mandatory regulations but are recommended practices distributed to district offices, housing associations, and construction companies.

An industry insider commented, "In the past, the more foreign words added, the more upscale a complex was perceived to be, but as similar names have been repeated, they have instead become difficult to remember. Short, meaningful Korean names are not only easy for anyone to pronounce, but also serve as an effective means of differentiation by making a complex's identity clear."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.