Kim (Korean surname)

Template:Short description Template:Multiple issues Template:Infobox surname Kim (Korean: ; Hanja: Template:Category handler) is the most common surname in Korea. As of the 2015 South Korean census, there were 10,689,959 people by this name in South Korea or 21.5% of the population. Although the surname is always pronounced the same, dozens of different family clans () use it. The clan system in Korea is unique from the surname systems of other countries. Kim is written as Template:Category handler () in both North and South Korea. The hanja for Kim, Template:Linktext, can also be transliterated as (Template:Transliteration) which means 'gold, metal, iron'. While romanized as Kim by 99.3% of the population, other rare variant romanizations such as Gim, Ghim, and Kin make up the remaining 0.7%.

Origin

The first historical document that records the surname dates to 636 and references it as the surname of Korean King Jinheung of Silla (526–576). In the Silla kingdom (57 BCETemplate:Snd935 CE)—which variously battled and allied with other states on the Korean peninsula and ultimately unified most of the country in 668—Kim was the name of a family that rose to prominence and became the rulers of Silla for 586 years. Many scholars have suggested that Kim Al-chi (Alti) may have been the chief of a "gold" (altin) clan of Korea and Manchuria, whose story is similar to the legend of Alji Geo-seo-khan.

Clans

File:Distribution of South Korean family names.svg

21.6% of Korean people bear the family name Kim. However, they all come from different family clans and have different ancestors.

  Kim, Gim, Ghim

  Lee, Yi, Rhee, Yie

  Park, Bark, Pak, Bhak

  Choi, Choe

  Jung, Jeong, Chung, Cheong

As with other Korean surnames, different clans, known as , are inherited from a father to his children. These designate the region of Korea or paternal ancestor from which they claim to originate.

The 2000 South Korean census listed 348 extant Kim lineages.

Major clans

Uiseong

The Uiseong Kim (; Template:Category handler) clan traces its lineage back to Kim Seok, also known as Kim Jung-seok, the son of Gyeongsun of Silla.

Andong

The Andong Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) consists of two separate clans, distinguished as Gu (; Template:Category handler) and Shin (; Template:Category handler), that have two separate progenitors.

Some notable Gu Andong Kim clan members were General Kim Si-min and Prime Minister Kim Sa-hyeong, who was involved with the Gangnido map, as well as Royal Noble Consort Hwi who was banished for witchcraft.

The Shin Andong Kim clan was one of the powerful clans that dominated the later part of Joseon. One of the most powerful members from the clan was Kim Jo-sun, who was the father-in-law to Sunjo of Joseon. Kim Josun's daughter was Queen Sunwon.

Gimhae (Kimhae)

The origin of the clan traces back to Suro of Geumgwan Gaya and his ten children, who started the Kim dynasty of Geumgwan Gaya, the capital of which was in present-day Gimhae. Famous ancient members of this clan, aside from the kings of Geumgwan Gaya, include the Silla general Kim Yu-sin. In Later Silla, members of the Gimhae Kim family were admitted to all but the highest level of the Silla bone rank system.

This clan is by far the most populous of all Korean clans. According to the 2015 South Korean census, there were 4,456,700 Gimhae Kim clan members in South Korea.

File:Kim surname pie chart.png

Distribution of ancestral lines of the Kim surname (1988)

Gyeongju

The Gyeongju Kims (; Template:Category handler) trace their descent from the ruling family of Silla. The founder of this clan is said to have been Kim Al-chi, an orphan adopted by King Talhae of Silla in the 1st century CE. Alji's seventh-generation descendant was the first member of the clan to take the throne, as King Michu of Silla in the year 262. According to the South Korean census of 2015, there were 1,800,853 Gyeongju Kims in South Korea.

Nagan

The Nagan Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) is small. Its progenitor, Kim Sujing (; Template:Category handler), was a descendant of the last king of Silla and established their ancestral home in Suncheon. In the South Korean census of 2000, less than 10,000 citizens claimed to be Nagan Kims.

Hamchang

The Hamchang Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) trace their origin to the founder of the little-known Gaya confederacy state of Goryeong Gaya, King Taejo. His alleged tomb, rediscovered in the sixteenth century, is still preserved by the modern-day members of the clan. This clan numbered only 26,300 members in the 2000 South Korean census.

Gwangsan

The Gwangsan Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) was one of the most prominent clans during Joseon. The Gwangsan Kims are the descendants of Kim Heung-gwang (김흥광, 金興光), who was the third prince of Sinmu of Silla, its 45th monarch.

Yaseong

The Yaseong Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) is from Yeongdeok County. The name Yeongdeok replaced an earlier name, Yaseong, which means 'city in the wilderness', and dates its origins back to Silla.

Cheongpung

The Cheongpung Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) was one of the aristocratic families during the Joseon. Two queens were from this clan during that period. Several members of the clan also became prime ministers.

Yonan

The Yonan Kim clan was an aristocratic family clan that had members in high government positions during the Joseon era. Six members of the clan were prime ministers. The founder of the Yonan Kim clan was Kim Sŏm-han (; Template:Category handler), a descendant of Kim Al-chi.

Gangneung

The Gangneung Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) originated from Gangneung in Gangwon Province. The progenitor was Kim Chu-wŏn, who was a descendant of Muyeol of Silla.

Sangsan

The Sangsan Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) originated from Sangju in North Gyeongsang Province. The progenitor was Kim Su (; Template:Category handler) and the clan had members that participated in the Joseon government.

Ulsan

The Ulsan Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) originated from Ulsan in Yeongnam. One of the members of this clan, Kim Inhu, was one of the 18 Sages of Korea and honored as a Munmyo Bae-hyang (; Template:Category handler).

Seoheung

The Seoheung Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) was one of the smaller Kim clans during the Joseon. The progenitor was Kim Bo (; Template:Category handler) and one of the members was Kim Gwoeng-pil (; Template:Category handler), who was one of the 18 Sages of Korea and honored as Munmyo Bae-hyang (; Template:Category handler).

Wonju

The Wonju Kim clan (; Template:Category handler) might be one of the smallest Kim clans during the Joseon. They had two members that became prime ministers during that period.

Jeonju

According to the South Korean census of 2015, there were 56,989 members of the Jeonju Kim clan in South Korea. Its progenitor, Kim T'ae-sŏ, was descended from the last king of Silla, Gyeongsun of Silla. South Korean artist Kim Hee-chul is from the Jeonju clan, as are the North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un.

Other clans

• Ansan Kim,
• Bu-an Kim,
• Cheongdo Kim,
• Cheongju Kim,
• Daegu Kim,
• Dogang Kim, (Gangjin Kim, )
• Eon-yang Kim,
• Gaeseong Kim,
• Geumsan Kim,
• Gimnyeong Kim,
• Gongju Kim,
• Go-ryeong Kim,
• Go-seong Kim,
• Gwangju Kim,
• Gyeongseong Kim,
• Hanyang Kim, (Korean adoptees)
• Jinju Kim,
• Joong-hwa Kim,
• Naju Kim,
• Pungcheon Kim,
• Pungsan Kim,
• Samcheok Kim,
• Seoha Kim,
• Seonsan Kim,
• Suncheon Kim,
• Suwon Kim,
• Ye-an Kim,
• Yeongdong Kim, (Yeongsan Kim, )
• Yeong-gwang Kim,

See also

• Culture of Korea
• Korean name
• List of Korean family names