In the end, Jaehyun's parents compromised by naming him Jung Jaehyun. Yes, Jaehyun is that NCT member's birth name, but then he changed it officially.
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| Jaehyun NCT |
Nowadays, everyone associates Jaehyun's name with the lead vocalist, lead dancer, and visual positions in NCT 127. However, this is not always the case due to the fact that Jaehyun has technically changed his name more than once over the years.
When Jaehyun was born on February 14, 1997 in Gangnam, Seoul, his parents faced a problem: they could not agree on what name to give him. Jaehyun's mother liked the name Sunwoo while Jaehyun's father wanted to name him Lin.
In the end, Jaehyun's parents compromised by choosing a completely different name. They named him Jung Jaehyun. Yes, Jaehyun is Jaehyun's birth name, but then he changed it officially. Why, why?
It all happened in junior high. Some idols, like TWICE's Jeongyeon, changed their names because of being bullied. Jaehyun, however, was very popular in middle school according to one of his former classmates. In fact, he is described as a legend of the school. Plus, his parents are teachers there, so Jaehyun doesn't have to worry.
On the other hand, Jaehyun's name was changed in middle school because of his grandmother. Apart from the name Hangul, Korean people also have the name Hanja. Hanja is a Chinese-Korean character that corresponds to the syllable of the Korean name. However, Jaehyun does not have the name Hanja, because there is no Hanja character for "hyun".
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| Source: Koreaboo |
In the view of Jaehyun's grandmother, that is not allowed. So, his family decided to legally change his name to Jung Yoon Oh. The character Hanja his parents chose for Yoon means "leap" or "extra", while the character for Oh can mean "five" or "military".
So, why did Jung Yoon Oh end up changing his name back to Jaehyun when he joined NCT? The answer is most likely on TVXQ. Currently, TVXQ's lineup consists of two members namely MAX Changmin, and U-KNOW Yunho.
Even though Yunho and Yoon Oh are not the same name, they sound very similar to Korean ears. So, SM Entertainment seems to be asking Jaehyun to use a stage name to avoid confusion. Although he could have chosen to come up with an entirely new name for his idol career, it seems that he decided to use his birth name as a stage name.
Interestingly, that's not Jaehyun's only name. He also used the English name Jay when he lived in Connecticut, USA for five years, because his teacher could not pronounce the name Jaehyun. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that this idol will remain popular as either Jaehyun, Yoon Oh, or Jay. (wk / dewi)
