The History of Korean Surnames: The Epic Within Names

Your name is more than a simple label; it is a living fossil that carries the history of a nation.

• Understand the difference between the ancient Chinese concepts of ‘姓 (surname)’ and ‘氏 (clan)’, the origins of Korean surnames.
• Learn how the Korean surname system was formed from the Three Kingdoms period through Goryeo and Joseon.
• Discover why Kim, Lee, and Park are exceptionally common and the uniqueness of the ‘bon-gwan’ (origin of clan) system.

What Does Your Name Tell About You?

One in five Koreans is a Kim (金). The population concentration in Korean surnames is a rare phenomenon worldwide. Have you ever wondered why Kim, Lee, and Park are so prevalent, and what stories your name holds?

The word ‘성씨 (surname)’ contains two concepts: ‘성 (姓)’ and ‘씨 (氏)’. These two concepts crossed into the Korean Peninsula and merged, engraving a grand history that taught the rise and fall of numerous dynasties and individual destinies within our names. Let’s follow that journey now.

Chapter 1: The Birth of 성 (Surname) – In the Beginning, There Was a Mother

The Chinese character for 성 (姓) combines the woman radical (女) and the character for birth (生), meaning ‘a woman gave birth.’ This is strong evidence that the oldest kinship concept in humanity preserved memories of a matrilineal society.

In ancient Chinese mythology, the Yellow Emperor (黃帝) had the surname Ji (姬) because his mother gave birth to him by the Ji River (姬水). The primary function of ‘surname’ was to distinguish kinship boundaries to prevent close-relative marriage. The surname was a mark of blood that must not be mixed.

Chapter 2: The Emergence of 씨 (Clan) – A Man’s Place in the World

Around the 11th century BCE, the Zhou dynasty in China entered a strong patrilineal feudal society, and the concept of ‘씨 (clan)’ appeared.

Unlike ‘surname’ based on blood, ‘clan’ was assigned based on a man’s social and political status such as territory or official title. For example, the royal family of Zhou had the surname Ji (姬), but descendants granted the fief of Qi (齊) used the clan name Qi (齊).

Qin Shi Huang’s original name was Ying (嬴) surname, Zhao (趙) clan, Zheng (政) personal name, clearly distinguishing surname and clan. However, as aristocratic order collapsed, the distinction blurred, and the patrilineal ‘clan’ absorbed the functions of ‘surname,’ merging into the single ‘surname’ concept we know today.

Table 1: Original Distinctions Between 姓 (Surname) and 氏 (Clan) in Ancient China

Chapter 3: Introduction of Korean Surnames in the Three Kingdoms Period

The surname concept landed on the Korean Peninsula as a strategic decision by the ruling classes of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The royal families adopted Chinese-style surnames for diplomacy and internal governance, creating founding myths to sanctify their authority.

Case Study 1: King Park Hyeokgeose Born from a Gourd

The founding myth of the Silla Park clan says the progenitor was born from an egg shaped like a gourd, hence the surname ‘Park (朴).’ Symbols like the white horse, egg, and well supported the sacred royal authority of Park Hyeokgeose.

Case Study 2: Kim Alji, the Child from the Golden Box

The Silla Kim clan’s founder, Kim Alji, was said to have emerged from a golden box, thus the surname ‘Kim (金).’ Symbols like the golden box and white rooster emphasized the sacred origin of the Kim dynasty. In this way, surnames in the Three Kingdoms period served as powerful political branding to strengthen royal authority.

Table 2: Adoption of Royal Surnames in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 4: Goryeo Dynasty, Uniting the Nation Through Names

King Taejo Wang Geon of Goryeo used surnames as a tool for national unification. He strengthened central authority through the ‘bestowal of surnames (賜姓)’ policy, granting surnames to loyal local lords, and the ‘bon-gwan (origin of clan)’ system, formalizing each clan’s regional base.

A representative example is when Kim Haeng (金幸), a local lord from Andong, was granted the surname Kwon (權) by Wang Geon, becoming the progenitor of the Andong Kwon clan. This completed a uniquely Korean surname system where clans with the same surname but different bon-gwan (e.g., Gyeongju Kim and Gimhae Kim) are considered distinct families, a phenomenon unparalleled globally.

Chapter 5: Joseon Dynasty, Everyone Gets a Surname

Until mid-Joseon, surnames were exclusive to the yangban aristocracy. However, after the Imjin and Byeongja invasions shook the social order, commoners and slaves began acquiring surnames.

The widespread issuance of ‘gongmyeongcheop’ (merit certificates) to increase state revenue and the sale of genealogies by wealthy classes accelerated surname adoption. Many chose surnames of royal or powerful families like Kim, Lee, and Park, directly causing the population concentration in these surnames today. The transformation of a slave named Subong into a noble Kim Subong on the registry decades later shows surnames became something to be acquired, not born with—a social revolution.

Chapter 6: Modern Trials, Forced Name Changes and the Completion of the Surname System

With the 1909 implementation of the ‘Minjeok Law,’ all citizens legally had surnames and bon-gwan, but in 1940, Japanese colonial authorities forced ‘changssi gaemyeong’ (name changes) to erase ethnic identity. This cultural violence aimed to destroy Korea’s unique bloodline and bon-gwan-based family system and assimilate it into the Japanese ‘ie (家)’ system.

Despite oppression, many resisted by adopting their bon-gwan as clan names (e.g., Gimhae Kim → Kaneumi 金海) or taking names from founding myths (e.g., Park Hyeokgeose’s Najeong well → Arai 新井). After liberation, the ‘Joseon Name Restoration Order’ restored names, confirming that surnames were the last bastion of Korean ethnic identity.

Comparison: The Uniqueness of the Korean Surname System

While Korean surnames originated from China, the existence of the ‘bon-gwan (本貫)’ system gives them unique characteristics.

• Korea: Combines surname + bon-gwan to identify clans (e.g., Gyeongju Lee ≠ Jeonju Lee). This is the root of the taboo against marrying someone with the same surname and bon-gwan.
• China: Uses surname alone to represent clans. There was a regional distinction called ‘junwang (郡望),’ but it lacked the strong legal and social binding power of Korea’s bon-gwan.
• Japan: Had clan (氏, Uji) and surname (姓, Kabane), but after the Meiji Restoration, these unified into ‘myoji (苗字).’ Many names derive from places or occupations, differing conceptually from Korea’s bloodline-centered surnames.

Thus, the bon-gwan system makes Korean surnames a unique symbol of combined bloodline and regional identity.

Conclusion

Writing this made me reflect again on the origin of my own name. Korean names are not mere symbols but epics compressed over thousands of years.

• Key Summary:

  1. Origin: Korean surnames began as a fusion of matrilineal ‘surname (姓)’ and patrilineal ‘clan (氏)’.
  2. Development: Politically introduced by royal families in the Three Kingdoms, established with the bon-gwan system in Goryeo, completing a uniquely Korean structure.
  3. Popularization: With the collapse of the class system in late Joseon, surnames became widespread, causing a surge in certain surnames like Kim, Lee, and Park.

What story does your name hold? Why not take this opportunity to explore the origin of your surname and bon-gwan? It will be an exciting journey into Korean history.