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Korean clans
| Korean clans | |
| Hangul | 본관 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 本貫 |
| Revised Romanization | bongwan |
| McCune–Reischauer | pon'gwan |
Korean clans are groups of Korean people that share the same paternal ancestor. They are indicated by the combination of a bongwan (Korean: 본관; lit. place of origin) and a family name.[1]
Korean clans distinguish clans that happen to share the same family name. The bongwan identifies descent groups by geographic place of origin.[2] For example, the Gyeongju Kim and the Gimhae Kim are considered different clans, even though they happen to share the same family name Kim. In this case, Gyeongju and Gimhae are the respective bongwan of these clans. However, a clan name is not treated as a part of a Korean person's name.[citation needed] The bongwan and the family name are passed on from a father to his children, thus ensuring that person in the same paternal lineage sharing the same combination of the bongwan and the family name.[1] A bongwan does not change by marriage or adoption.
Different family names sharing the same bongwan sometimes trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor, e.g. the Gimhae Kim clan and the Gimhae Heo clan share Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as their common paternal ancestor, though such cases are exceptional.
According to the population and housing census of 2000 conducted by Statistics Korea, there are a total of 286 surnames and 4,179 clans.[3] The 2015 census reported that a total of 36,744 family clans exist among the 1,507 surnames extant in South Korea.[4]
- ^ a b 이수건. 본관 (本貫). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
- ^ Duncan, John B. (28 April 2015). The Origins of the Choson Dynasty. University of Washington Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-295-80533-7.
- ^ "2000 인구주택총조사 성씨 및 본관 집계결과". Statistics Korea (in Korean). Retrieved 20 October 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Statistics Korea (December 23, 2016). 2015년 인구주택총조사보고서 전수조사결과 [2015 population and housing census report : based on complete enumeration]. Vol. 3. Daejeon. ISBN 978-89-5801-400-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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