US Ambassadors Wife Gets Korean Name

The wife of U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow received a Korean name Wednesday from a pro-American group here, becoming the latest distinguished foreign figure to be bestowed with the symbolic honor.

The Korea-U.S. Alliance Friendship Society named Lisa Vershbow "Park Shin-ye." The surname Park is from her husband's Korean name "Park Bo-woo," which was previously given to the ambassador by the same group. Park is one of the most common Korean surnames. Bo-woo literally means "treasure-like friend."

Mrs. Vershbow's Korean name stems from her job as jewelry designer, according to the group leader Suh Jin-sup.

"'Shin' means trust and 'ye' means art," Suh said.

Mrs Vershbow said she is honored to be given a Korean name.

Last month, Gen. B.B. Bell, commander of U.S. troops here, was given the Korean name of "Baek Bo-guk" by the group, which supports a closer Seoul-Washington alliance.

The surname Baek, which has a pronunciation similar to the Bell's English surname, symbolizes the color white. And the given name "Bo-guk," which means "defending a country," reflects South Koreans' desire for the commander to make a continued contribution to the nation's defense.