Kim (Korean name)
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Template:Koreanname noimage Kim is the most common family name in Korea. In South Korea in 1985, out of a population of between roughly 40 and 45 million, there were approximately 8.8 million Kims — roughly 20% of the population. The name is also common in North Korea. It means "gold".
Famous Kims in Korean history have included the politician Kim Gu, the North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il, the South Korean presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, the fashion designer Andre Kim, LPGA golfer Mi-Hyun Kim, Korean American actor Daniel Dae Kim, Kim Jae-kyu, and a man beheaded in Iraq named Kim Sun-il.
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Clans
As with most other Korean family names, there are many Kim clans, each of which consists of individual Kim families. Most Kims belong to a handful of very large clans, but even within each clan, people in different families are not related to each other. These distinctions are important, since Korean law used to prohibit intermarriage in the same clan, no matter how remote the relationship; now, however, only those in a relationship of second cousins or closer may not marry.
As with other Korean family names, the Kim clans are distinguished by the place from which they claim to originate. A very large number of distinct Kim clans exist, besides those listed here.
Goryeong
According to a story recorded only in the Samguk Yusa, in 48 ACE, Princess Heo Hwang-ok made an epic journey from a country called "Ayuda" to Korea, where she married King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya and gave birth to 10 children, thus starting the Kim dynasty of Geumgwan Gaya, the capital of which was in present-day Goryeong County. The country of Ayuda is often identified with Ayodhya in India. [1] (http://www.ndtv.com/features/showfeatures.asp?id=813&frmsrch=1&txtsrch=Korea%2CAyodhya)
Famous members of this clan, aside from the kings of Geumgwan Gaya, include the Silla general Kim Yu-shin.
Gyeongju
The Gyeongju Kims trace their descent from the ruling family of Silla. The founder of this clan is said to have been Kim Alji, an orphan adopted by King Talhae of Silla in the first 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.
This clan is extremely populous. In the South Korean census of 1985, more than 1.5 million citizens claimed to be Gyeongju Kims.
Hamchang
The Hamchang Kims trace their origin to the founder of the little-known Gaya state of Goryeong Gaya. His alleged tomb, rediscovered in the 16th century, is still preserved by the modern-day members of the clan.
See also
External links
- A 2001 Korea Now article explaining the clan structure (http://kn.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2001/04/07/200104070021.asp)
- Korean-language site of the Gyeongju Kim association (http://kyongkim.or.kr/)zh:金姓