Korean people and English names?

Ok, so I have this friend. She's from Korea, so she has a Korean name. But when she came to Canada for a couple of years, she changed it to an English name. Her English and Korean names sound nothing alike, and she says she doesn't like her English name which means she didn't pick it herself. So I was just wondering how, when people come here from Korea (or another country) they get English names. I know I could just ask her, but I cant right now and I thought this was a question someone else could answer. I'm just curious, so any help?

I personally have no trouble with her Korean name but I guess I can see how some people would.

some (most) koreans would make english name when they go abroad or even when they reside inside the country but have to interact with foreigners a lot. The reason is that they find their names' difficult to pronounce by a foreign tongue so they make an english name.

some people just grab a name from a book, movie, ask a friend to pick a name for them (i just gave the name "david" my friend whose real name is "byungdoo" -- how far is that? just on the base that "the name david would suit him" and he agreed). There are also cases their english teacher in the english institution they're studying at, pick an english name for them. So there are always chances not liking your english name...
of course they can change it as easy as they made it, but the thing is, if people already know you as.. say "martha" and then you change it to "lily", people will get confuse.

i personally prefer to be called by my real name (so i don't have an "english name), so if you can call your friend by her korean name, that's better.

My boss is Asian, and also some other staff where i work. They all have different names and it is like translating it into English. They always need to legaly change their name when they are going to reside in a different country. I am not sure why though, but i know that they dont chose their name, rather the country itself changes their name into english whether they will like the new name or not.

My husband works at a company that deals with Korean companies, and therefore many employees are Korean. They choose a Western name so that it's easier for people to say and use their name. If she did not choose it, I don't know who would have, maybe her parents?

In australia most asians who live here change their name because we can't pronounce their original name which makes it awkward for them trying to assimilate especially if their english isn't very good. If her korean name is fairly easy to pronounce then she need not change it. Ask a few english speakers if they would have trouble with it.

They choose them.
I don't know the average life-span for a western name, but it doesn't seem set in stone.
Our neighbor is on his third western name. Other people told him that his first choices sounded "like old men," so he kept switching. A young woman we know introduced herself with a name a couple of months ago, then told us a month later that she had changed it.
I'm so envious. It's an endless supply of aliases. I'd like to line up a few Korean names, and change them up like my clothes and hair. I'm not being sarcastic. I really think it's a fun idea.

Well, I know in the US you can have such ridiculous names that they wouldn't force a Korean to change theirs. I know a guy whos name was V. Yeah, just V, like the letter. So if someone changed their name it would be to make it easier, and they would choose what they wanted. In her case, someone probably just suggested a name and she went with it. It may not even be an actual legal name change, just what she uses. She could probably change it if she thought of a better one.

I go to boarding school and I would say about half the Korean students here have an English name and the others keep their original name. Some of my friends tell me that when they first arrived here, they asked people to call them by their Korean name, but they got frustrated and annoyed when people couldn't pronounce it right, so they changed their name to an English one. Some of my friends chose their English name, and others had their friends pick it for them, some have had it since elementary school when they first began learning English. According to some friends, they have kept their Korean name while studying here because they feel it is part of their identity.

When I was in Korean class the teacher gave us all Korean names. Apparently I got a pretty good one because Korean people always look duly impressed when they hear it.
Anyway, I am guessing her teacher gave her the name at some point.
Just be happy it is not Sunny or Jenny. Those are the most popular names that Korean girls give themselves.

Not only Korean - if you are in place where nobody can properly pronounce your name, and you need 5 minutes to introduce your name, you come up to think about the other option. I saw many Indian, Chinese, Uganda, Hungarian people get second nickname to make everyone's life easier. No matter what English name your friend choose, her legal name is her Korean name.

I'm Korean and I came to America 10 years ago. We don't really have to change our name but most of do. It's easier for people to pronounce and get closer to rather than trying to say a name that's really foreign. Also, Koreans have two names, such as first name and middle. My Korean name is Yu Min. Whereas Westerners have one name so they would either call me Yu or Min which is uncomfortable for me. I mean, if I'm going to live in America, why not get an English name? Koreans can choose names themselves or friends and family could too.