The suffix -san in Korean The suffix -san in Korean means 'mountain'. So far so good. When traveling in the north of Chollabukdo and the adjoining south of Chungcheonnamdo, an area which is very flat,

Alex 알렉스

Professional Teacher

The suffix -san in Korean The suffix -san in Korean means 'mountain'. So far so good. When traveling in the north of Chollabukdo and the adjoining south of Chungcheonnamdo, an area which is very flat, I noticed that many place names are ending with -san. Iksan, Gunsan, Geumsan, Nonsan and many more. Any idea why?

Mar 25, 2019 10:49 PM

Comments · 4

Case 1 : Renaming by a royal mandate

* Taejong of Joseon(조선 태종) said that there are too many place names which ends with Ju(주). So some place names are changed from 주(Ju) to 산(San) or 천(Cheon).

익주(益州) -> 익산(益山)

금주(錦州) -> 금산(錦山)

울주(蔚州) -> 울산(蔚山)

Case 2 : contraction

고군산군도(古群山群島) -> 군산(群山)

Case 3 : literal translation of pure Korean place name.

'논뫼' or '놀뫼'(rice paddy and mountain - Gyeryongsan Mountain ) -> 논산(論山)

March 26, 2019