Ju (Korean name)

Ju, also spelled Joo or Chu, is a Korean family name and an element in Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

Family name
As a family name, Ju may be written with either of two hanja, one meaning "red" (붉을 주), and the other meaning "around" (두루 주). The former has one bon-gwan (Wu Yuan, China), while the latter has four (Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do; Chogye-myeon, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do; Cheorwon-gun, Gangwonnam-do; and Anui-myeon, Hamyang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do). The 2000 South Korean census found 215,010 people with this family name.

In a study by the National Institute of the Korean Language based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 50.6% of people with this surname spelled it in Latin letters as Ju in their passports, and another 46.9% spelled it as Joo. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 2.4%) included Chu and Choo.

People with these family names include:


 * Chu Sang-song (born 1933), North Korean politician, former Minister of People's Security
 * Chu Yo-han (1900–1976), South Korean poet
 * Chu Yung-kwang (1920–1982), South Korean footballer
 * Brian Joo (born 1981), American-born South Korean singer
 * Dong Moon Joo, Korean-American businessman
 * Joo Hee-jung (born 1977), South Korean basketball player
 * Joo Hee-sun, South Korean music video director
 * Joo Hyeon-woo (born 1990), South Korean footballer
 * Joo Hyong-jun (born 1991), South Korean speed skater
 * Joo Hyun (born Joo Il-choo, 1941), South Korean actor
 * Joo Hyun-jung (born 1982), South Korean archer
 * Joo Hyun-mi (born 1961), South Korean trot singer
 * Hyung-ki Joo, British classical pianist of Korean descent
 * Joo In-young (born 1978), South Korean actress
 * Joo Jae-duk (born 1985), South Korean footballer
 * Joo Jin-mo (born 1958), South Korean actor
 * Joo Jin-mo (born 1974), South Korean actor
 * Joo Jong-hyuk (born 1983), South Korean actor and singer
 * Joo Jong-hyuk (born 1991), South Korean actor
 * Judy Joo, Korean-American celebrity chef
 * Joo Ki-hwan (born 1981), South Korean footballer
 * Joo Min-jin (born 1983), South Korean short track speed skater
 * Joo Min-kyung (born 1989), South Korean actress
 * Joo Sang-wook (born 1978), South Korean actor
 * Joo Se-hyuk (born 1980), South Korean table tennis player
 * Joo Seong-ha, North Korean journalist who defected to South Korea in 2002
 * Joo Ye-rim (born 2011), South Korean child actress
 * Ju Ho-jin (born 1981), South Korean footballer
 * Ju Kwang-min (born 1990), North Korean footballer
 * Ju Kwang-youn (born 1985), South Korean footballer
 * Ju Kyu-chang (born 1939), North Korean industrial official
 * Ju Ji-hoon (born 1982), South Korean actor
 * Ju Seung-jin (born 1975), South Korean footballer
 * Ju Si-gyeong (1876–1914), Joseon Dynasty linguist

Given name
There are 56 hanja with the reading "ju" on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be used in given names; they are listed in the table at right. One name containing this syllable, Eun-ju, was the sixth-most popular name for newborn South Korean girls in 1970.

Names beginning with this syllable include:
 * Joo-hwan (masculine)
 * Joo-hyun (unisex)
 * Joo-won (unisex)

Names ending with this syllable include:


 * Dong-joo (masculine)
 * Eun-ju (feminine)
 * Hae-joo (unisex)
 * Hong-joo (unisex)
 * Hyo-joo (feminine)
 * Hyun-joo (unisex)
 * Hyung-joo (unisex)
 * Jin-joo (feminine)
 * Min-ju (feminine)
 * Kyung-ju (unisex)
 * Seok-ju (masculine)
 * Young-joo (unisex)

People with the single syllable given name Ju include:
 * Joo (singer), stage name of Jung Min-joo (born 1990), South Korean solo singer, and older sister of Jung Il-hoon (former member of South Korean boy band BtoB)