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Bon-gwan (or Bongwan) is the concept of clan in Korea, which is used to distinguish clans that happen to share the same family name (clan name). Since Korea has been traditionally a
Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chinese distinction of clan names or ''xing'' (姓) and lineage names or ''shi'' (氏). The ''bong-wan'' system identifies descent groups by geographic place of origin. A Korean clan is a group of people that share the same paternal ancestor and is indicated by the combination of a ''bong-wan'' and a family name (clan name). However, a ''bon-gwan'' is not treated as a part of a Korean person's name. The ''bon-gwan'' 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 ''bon-gwan'' and the family name. A ''bon-gwan'' does not change by marriage or adoption. ''Bon-gwan'' are used to distinguish different lineages that bear the same family name. For example, the
Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong ...
Kim and the
Gimhae Gimhae () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim (Korean name), Kim clans in Korea. The Gimhae Kims claim descent from the a ...
Kim are considered different clans, even though they happen to share the same family name ''
Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...
''. In this case, Gyeongju and Gimhae are the respective ''bon-gwan'' of these clans. Different family names sharing the same ''bon-gwan'' sometimes trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor, e.g. the ' clan and the ' 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 the South Korean government, there are a total of 286
surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
and 4,179 clans.


Restrictions on marriage and adoption

Traditionally, a man and a woman in the same clan could not marry, so the combination of the ''bon-gwan'' and the family name of a husband had to differ from that of a wife. Until 1997, this was also the law, but this was ruled as unconstitutional and now DNA tests have superseded ''bon-gwan'' as an indication of one's lineage. When adopting a child, the adoptive father and the adopted child must share the same combination of the ''bon-gwan'' and the family name. However, in exceptional circumstances, adoptive parents can change an adopted child’s family name for the adopted child's
welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. In this case, the adoptive parents must visit a
family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
to request permission to change the family name.


List


See also

*
Ancestral home (Chinese) In Chinese culture, hometown or ancestral home () is the place of origin of one's extended family. It may or may not be the place where one is born. For instance, two people may both be born in Shanghai, but the hometowns of their ancestors may ...
* Korean clan names of foreign origin *
Korean name A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''se ...
*
List of common Korean surnames This List of South Korean surnames by prevalence ranks Korean family names by population and includes homophonous hanja characters. Data are provided by the South Korean government and only include family names used by more than five people. (The ...
* Place of origin


References

{{reflist


External links


List of Korean clans
(in Korean) Korean clans Clans