The Gimhae Kim clan () is one of the
Korean clans
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 country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chinese ...
. This clan traces their origin to
Suro of Geumgwan Gaya
Suro (수로) or Sureung (posthumous name: 수릉, 首陵, 42?–199), commonly called Gim Suro, was the legendary founder and Hero King of Geumgwan Gaya (43–532), in southeastern Korea.[Gaya confederacy
Gaya (, ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.
The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42–53 ...]
, and his descendant,
Kim Yu-sin
Gim Yu-sin (sometimes romanized Kim Yu-shin, Gim Yu-sin, or Gim Yu-shin) (595 – 18 August 673) was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King ...
is renowned for unifying the
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...
polity. It was considered a
commoner
A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
surname.
More than six million present day Koreans, especially from Gimhae Kim,
Heo
Heo is a family name in Korea.
It is also often spelled as Hur or Huh, or less commonly as Her. In South Korea in 1985, out of a population of between roughly 40 and 45 million, there were approximately 264,000 people surnamed Heo. The name is al ...
and
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
(Yi) clans associate their
Bon-gwan
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 country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chinese ...
(geo-biological lineage roots) to
Gimhae
Gimhae () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim clans in Korea. The Gimhae Kims claim descent from the ancient royal house of Geumgwan Gaya, which was based in Gim ...
, in the
South Gyeongsang Province
South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...
of South Korea,
[ and these clans place restrictions on marriage with each other due to the shared ancestors. Today, the Gimhae Kim clan is the largest clan group among them.] The Gimhae Kim and Gimhae Heo clans, descend from the two sons of King Suro where the latter used their mother, Queen Heo Hwang-ok
A commemorative Rs. 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019.
A commemorative Rs. 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019.
Heo Hwang-ok, also known a ...
's surname, instead of their father's.
One of the dominant branch of Gimhae Kim clan is Samhyunpa-branch.
Origin
The Gimhae Kim clan's founder, according to legend, was King Suro
Suro (수로) or Sureung (posthumous name: 수릉, 首陵, 42?–199), commonly called Gim Suro, was the legendary founder and Hero King of Geumgwan Gaya (43–532), in southeastern Korea.[Heo Hwang-ok
A commemorative Rs. 25.00 postage stamp on Princess Suriratna (Queen Heo Hwang-ok ) was issued by India in 2019.
A commemorative Rs. 5.00 postage stamp on Queen Heo Hwang-ok (Suriratna) was issued by India in 2019.
Heo Hwang-ok, also known a ...]
.
Heo Hwang-ok bore 12 children. Two of them were given her surname, and they were the origin of the Gimhae Heo clan. According to the ''Samguk Sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
'', Kim Yu-sin
Gim Yu-sin (sometimes romanized Kim Yu-shin, Gim Yu-sin, or Gim Yu-shin) (595 – 18 August 673) was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King ...
was the 12th grandchild of Suro.
See also
* Creation myth of Geumgwan Gaya
References
{{reflist
Korean clans