The Seoul city government said Monday that it has launched a pilot program to give foreigners Korean names as part of efforts to promote the Korean alphabet, hangeul.



The program, titled "Korean Names for Non-Koreans," is available to foreigners who reside overseas and are interested in Korean culture, Park Jin-young, a city official in charge of communication, said.



The application form can be downloaded from the city's foreign language website and e-mailed to the city at english@seoul.go.kr.



Of the applicants, five to 10 foreigners will be selected each month after considering their reasons for applying for Korean names.



The city, in collaboration with hangeul organizations, will name the selected applicants in Korean.



Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will give the first successful applicant a certificate with the person's Korean name written by him, according to the official. (Yonhap)



