Meanings
Honam1
- A historical region of South Korea, covering the modern-day Gwangju and Jeolla provinces.
In the Honam region, the succession is through paternal lines based on tan'golp'an (hereditary priestly authority).
1988, Kim T'ae-gon, “Regional Characteristics of Korean Shamanism”, in Yi Yu-jin, transl., edited by Richard W.I. Guisso and Chai-shun Yu, Shamanism: The Spirit World of Korea (Studies in Korean Religion and Culture), volume 1, Berkeley, Cali: Asian Humanities Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 1271 more example
While current regionalism is mainly a conflict between the Youngnam and Honam regions, its historical origin goes farther back in the period of the Three States (1st century- 7th century). In the late 7th century, Silla, which roughly corresponds to the current Youngnam region, unified the peninsula by conquering Paekche, which also roughly corresponds to the current Honam region, with the help of T'ang China.
1989 April, Nam Young Lee, Choong-Bin Cho, “Regionalism in Korea”, in Dalchoong Kim, Brian L. Evans, editors, Korea and Canada: New Frontiers in the Asia-Pacific Era (East and West Studies Series), number 8, Seoul: Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University, →OCLC, pages 46–47
Honam2
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounSynonym of Henan
Origin
Honam · proper noun
- Korean호남(湖南)
- EnglishHonam
Borrowed from Korean 호남(湖南) (honam). Doublet of Hunan.
More words from Korean
Full word history & related roots →Honam · proper noun
- Cantonese河南
- EnglishHonam
From Cantonese 河南 (ho⁴ naam⁴).
More words from Cantonese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 湖南
- 湖南 (Húnán)region in southwestern Korea
Japanese 湖南
- 湖南 (Konan)region in southwestern Korea
Korean 호남
- 호남 (Honam)region in southwestern Korea
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Honam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Honam
“Honam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Honam. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Honam,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Honam.
Source: Honam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.