What do 경전 and 한전 mean?

I came across the term “경전” in a recent translation of a research paper. It caught me off guard as I’ve most often seen the term in a religious context as meaning “scriptures” or “holy books.” After some research I found out about one other meaning.

It is a former company abbreviation for “한전” which refers to KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) (한국전력공사).

The company’s name has changed a few times over the past 100 years.

경성전기. 1929.

In 1929 it had a Japanese name “Gyeong-seong-jeon-gi” (Gyeongseong Electric Company).

This is where the abbreviated term “경전” comes from.

경성전기주식회사 육십년 연혁사 - 경성전기. 1957.

In 1957 there was change to a similar name. The abbreviation “경전” could also refer to this company name.

남선전기. 1958.

In 1958 the company changed to a Korean name “Namseon Jeongi” (Namseon Electric Company).

한국전기 백년사(상, 하, 1987)

In 1987 there was another change to Hanguk Jeongi (Korea Electric Company). “한전” could refer to this company.

한국전력 사십년사(2001)

Finally, in 2001, the company name was changed to its current name 한국전력 (Korea Electric Power Corporation). “한전” could also refer to this company.

Since “경전” hasn’t been used for several decades, it is not likely to come up very often in modern documents. However, being aware of this possible meaning ahead of time can save you time.