It is also used when there's name collision
If there's five people named John in the same class in school or the same team at work, it is not uncommon for all John to go by last name.
Re:Why Koreans ask what year you were born
by EarlKing on Thursday June 12, 2025 @12:27AM
(#44254313)
In my circle usually people would either go by their middle name or they'd very quickly earn themselves a nickname... although now that I think about it we did use lastnames for some guys. Whatever works, really. Nobody was a stickler about how they were addressed.
Also, you made me feel old.