So, I call up a friend of mine in Pennsylvania. His dad picks up and my friend Sandor isn’t home. We get to talking for a few minutes and I tell him who I am. I explain that I am Sandor’s friend and that my name is “Byung.” He retorts, “Bee-yoooooouuuuung?” I said, “Yes, it’s Byung.” He asks what my last name is. I tell him “Na.” He rebutts, “Bee-yoooooouuuuunggg Naaaaaaah?” I say “yes.” He asks me, “Do you know what ‘Byung Na’ means in Korean?” I tell him no. I just say I know it’s my name.
He says “First of all, Byung means ‘disease’” “‘Na’ means ‘to have.’” He told me that my name means “To have a disease.” So, that’s why he was so confused about my name. Of course I clarify my FULL name is “Byung Hyu Na” which is still confusing for Koreans, but much better than just my first & last name without the middle part of it, which most Korean names are composed of.
