I think this question has been answered a billion times already but let me put this issue to rest, in Korean as with other east Asian languages i.e. Chinese, Japanese it is convention to say the family name first followed by the "first" name, hence Kim Yu-na. The media of course is generally ignorant of these sort of things and will just say the name they see on paper.. so if they see a form that says "First Name: Yuna; Last Name: Kim" more likely than not they will just say "Yu-na Kim" So I guess if you want to be culturally sensitive you would say "Kim Yu-na".
It seems to me YuNa doesn't care, either way.
How about Julia Sebestyen? Why aren't people calling her Sebestyen Julia?
It seems to me YuNa doesn't care, either way.
Kind of reminds me of Joe Biden saying, "You can call me whatever the heck you want."
(On Jay Leno, IIRC, in an indirect response to Sarah Palin's "May I call you Joe?" request.)
... because she's not East Asian decent??? :scratch:
Tonichelle said:Scott Hamilton calls her Kim Yuna... so not all of those Media people are ignorant
Maybe Kwan Ying Shan made them do it.
Like most of the US hosts used to call "Fumi-y (dropping the last syllable "e")", "Yoshi-y (same as Fumie)", with no sign of ever bothering to check.
Here is how to remember, in song.
♫ Ta-ra-ra-BOOM-de-ay,
Suguri FOO-mee-ay! ♫♪
The funny thing is, now that U.S. broadcasters are saying "Kim Yu-na," most American television viewers will think that Kim is her personal name, like Kimmie Meissner. hwell:
Love it!!!hmmm......how about "Kimmie Yuna"
I noticed since last SA they started calling her 'KIM Yuna' instead of 'Yuna Kim'. I honestly didn't know why, but I guessed they were trying to respect asian culture.
ABC/ESPN goes by the 'Western' convention of surname last (e.g. Yuna Kim), and did all of the skating competition telecasts for many years up through the 2007-2008 season.
NBC/Universal goes by the Asian convention of surname first (Kim Yuna). NBC began televising Skate America last year.
[Paul Wylie, who is now commentating for Universal Sports but formerly commentated for ESPN, mistakenly referred to 'Lu Chen' during the Grand Prix telecast over the weekend. He should have called her 'Chen Lu' to remain consistent.]
hmmm......how about "Kimmie Yuna"
Here is how to remember, in song.
♫ Ta-ra-ra-BOOM-de-ay,
Suguri FOO-mee-ay! ♫♪
The funny thing is, now that U.S. broadcasters are saying "Kim Yu-na," most American television viewers will think that Kim is her personal name, like Kimmie Meissner. hwell:
Some people are already confused. I remember seeing a backstage video during the preparation for Festa on Ice back in April when Patrick Chan asked Yuna, "So your first name is Kim?" Yuna had to explain to Patrick that Kim is her last name. By the way, Johnny Weir is adorable in the video:
(By the way, Adam Rippon (who's also coached by Orser) asks Yuna how to say "I love you" in Korean. Maybe he would like to say that to her one day. I think he might have a crush on her.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNrXLnfYiPs&feature=related
Not sure why American announcers suddenly decided to say last name first. During the 2009 world championship, I recall hearing the NBC announcer saying Kim Yuna and immediately afterward the rink announcer saying Yuna Kim. Maybe they ought to just say Yuna Kim just to be consistent with everybody else in the western world (er, except for Hungary, it seems.)
Paul Wylie, who is now commentating for Universal Sports but formerly commentated for ESPN, mistakenly referred to 'Lu Chen' during the Grand Prix telecast over the weekend. He should have called her 'Chen Lu' to remain consistent.]
By the way, Adam Rippon (who's also coached by Orser) asks Yuna how to say "I love you" in Korean. Maybe he would like to say that to her one day. I think he might have a crush on her.
Phoenix said:Some people are already confused. I remember seeing a backstage video during the preparation for Festa on Ice back in April when Patrick Chan asked Yuna, "So your first name is Kim?" Yuna had to explain to Patrick that Kim is her last name.