George McAfee "Mac" McCune (/məˈkjuːn/ mə-KEWN; June 16, 1908 – November 5, 1948) was an American scholar of Korea. He was one of the creators and namesakes of the McCune–Reischauer system for the romanization of Korean, along with Edwin O. Reischauer. Significant work on the system was done by Korean linguists Choe Hyeon-bae, Jeong In-seop, and Kim Seon-gi. McCune taught Korean history and language at Occidental College and the University of California, Berkeley.
McCune–Reischauer (MR; /məˈkjuːn ˈraɪʃaʊ.ər/ mə-KEWN RYSHE-ow-ər) is a romanization system for the Korean language. It was first published in 1939 by George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer. Significant work on the system was done by Korean linguists Choe Hyeon-bae, Jeong In-seop, and Kim Seon-gi.
According to Reischauer, McCune "persuaded the American Army Map Service to adopt [the McCune–Reischauer system], and through the Korean War it became the foundation for most current Romanizations of Korean place names."
Edwin Oldfather Reischauer (/ˈraɪʃaʊ.ər/ RYSHE-ow-ər; October 15, 1910 – September 1, 1990) was an American diplomat, educator, and professor at Harvard University. Born in Tokyo to American educational missionaries, he became a leading scholar of the history and culture of Japan and East Asia. Together with George M. McCune, a scholar of Korea and several Korean linguists, in 1939 he developed the McCune–Reischauer romanization of the Korean language.
Reischauer became involved in helping create US policy toward East Asia during and after World War II. President John F. Kennedy appointed Reischauer as the United States Ambassador to Japan, where he served from 1961 to 1966. Reischauer founded the Japan Institute at Harvard University in 1973 and was its founding director. It was later named in honor of him.