Kwak () is a

Korean surname 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 (''seon ...

Overview

The family name Kwak is written with a

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

meaning "city walls" (; ; also called ). The same character is also used to write the family names Guō in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

Kwok "Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated into English as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, ...

in Cantonese, Kaku in Japanese, and

Quach Quach (also spelled Quách) is a Vietnamese surname: Quách romanized in English: Quach. The name derives from the Chinese surname 郭, which is pronounced Guō in Mandarin and ''Kwok'' or ''Gwok'' in Cantonese. In Japanese, the surname Quach is ...

in Vietnamese. The 2000 South Korean census found a total of 187,322 people and 58,396 households with this family name. They identified with a number of different ''

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 ...

'' (seat of a clan

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

, for example the residence of an ancestor from whom the clan claims descent): * (

Dalseong County Dalseong County (Dalseong-gun) is a ''gun'' occupying much of south and western Daegu, South Korea. A largely rural district lying along the Nakdong River, it makes up nearly half of Daegu's total area. It is divided in half by a narrow piece o ...

): 140,283 people and 43,626 households. They claim descent from Gwak Gyeong (), who came to the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

from

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

China during the reign of

Injong of Goryeo Injong of Goryeo (29 October 1109 – 10 April 1146) (r. 1122–1146) was the 17th monarch of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Yejong and Queen Sundeok, the daughter of Yi Ja-gyeom. His reign saw two major internal crises ...

(r. 1122–1146). See

Hyeonpung Gwak clan Hyeonpung Gwak clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan is in Dalseong County, Daegu. According to the research held in 2015, the number of Hyeonpung Gwak clan’s member was 166608. Their founder was who was naturalized in Goryeo from ...

. *

Cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest List of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the ...

: 18,218 people and 5,601 households. They claim descent from Gwak Sang (), who served in the civil post of under

Heongang of Silla Heongang of Silla (c.861–886) (r. 875–886) was the 49th to rule the Korean kingdom of Silla. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', he excelled at civil affairs. Heongang was the eldest son of King Gyeongmun; his mother was Queen Munui. He had ...

(r. 875–886). *

Seonsan Seonsan, or Seonsan-eup, is an ''eup'' or large village in Gumi City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It has a population of around 20,000 people, and an area of 69 km². There are several historical landmarks in Seonsan, including two Jose ...

: 5,603 people and 1,743 households *

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, ...

: 5,086 people and 1,641 households *22 ''bon-gwan'' each with fewer than 3,000 people: 17,942 people and 5,772 households *Other or unknown: 190 people and 13 households In a study by the

National Institute of the Korean Language The National Institute of Korean Language is a language regulator of the Korean language. It was created on January 23, 1991, by Presidential Decree No. 13163 (November 14, 1990). It is based in Seoul, South Korea. The institute was originall ...

based on 2007 application data for South Korean passports, it was found that 75.4% of people with this family name spelled it in Latin letters as Kwak in their passports, while 14.4% spelled it in

Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

as Gwak, and 5% spelled it Kwag. Rarer alternative spellings (the remaining 5.2%) included Kwack, Gak, Guak, Kwack, Gwag, Kag, Kawk, Koag, Koak, Kweak, and Kwug. Other spellings include Kwalk, Kowalk. Notably, Kwak sounds similar and is spelled similar to Kwok (郭)in Cantonese.

Notable people

Athletes

Gwak Hyeon-chae Gwak Hyeon-chae (born 20 July 1947) is a South Korean basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of th ...

(born 1947), South Korean basketball player *

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers ...

(born Kwak Gwang-ung, 1951), Japanese professional wrestler of Korean descent *

Gwak Kyung-keun Gwak Kyung-Keun (곽경근; born October 10, 1972) is a South Korean football player who plays at the forward position. When he transferred to Busan I'cons, he changed his position to defender. He is now the manager of Bucheon FC 1995 in K ...

(born 1972), South Korean football forward *

Kwak Ok-chol Kwak Ok-chol (born 6 February 1973) is a North Korean former judoka who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 200 ...

(born 1973), North Korean judo athlete *

Gwak Mi-hee Gwak Mi-hee ( ko, 곽미희; born May 10, 1974) is a South Korean cross-country mountain biker and ski mountaineer, who has won all individual races of all Asian Championships of Ski Mountaineering since the first edition. Gwak was born in ...

(born 1974), South Korean cross-country mountain biker and ski mountaineer *

Kwak Hee-ju Kwak Hee-Ju (born 5 October 1981) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a defender who last played for Suwon Samsung Bluewings. At first, he did not enjoy much success with the team, but since early of 2004, he has become one of the ...

(born 1981), South Korean football defender * Kwak Tae-hwi (born 1981), South Korean football centre-back *

Kwak Dong-hyuk Kwak or KWAK may refer to: *Kwak (surname), a Korean surname (郭, 霍) *KWAK (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to serve Stuttgart, Arkansas, United States *KWAK-FM, a radio station (105.5 FM), licensed to serve Stuttgart, Arkansas *KWAK-LP, ...

(born 1983), South Korean volleyball player *

Kwak Hyok-ju Kwak Hyok-ju (born 3 April 1984) is a North Korean boxer. He competed in the men's light flyweight event at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the ...

(born 1984), North Korean boxer *

Kwak Jung-hye Kwak Jung-hye (born 19 November 1986) is a South Korean sports shooter. She competed in the women's 10 metre air pistol event at the 2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 ...

(born 1986), South Korean sport shooter * Kwak Chul-ho (born 1986), South Korean football forward *

Kwak Kwang-seon Kwak Kwang-seon (, born March 28, 1986) is a South Korean football (soccer), football player for Seongnam FC. On 18 November 2008, Kwak was as one of sixteen priority member, join the newly formed Gangwon FC. On 11 April 2009, Kwak scored his f ...

(born 1986), South Korean football defender * Kwak Chang-hee (born 1987), South Korean football striker *

Kwak Seung-suk Kwak Seung-suk (Hangul: 곽승석; born ) is a South Korean volleyball player. He was part of the South Korea men's national volleyball team at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Poland. He currently plays for the Incheon Kore ...

(born 1988), South Korean volleyball player * Kwak Yoon-gy (born 1989), South Korean short track speed skater *

Kwak Hae-seong Kwak Hae-seong (; born 6 December 1991) is a South Korean footballer who plays as full back for Incheon United. Career He joined Seongnam FC Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10 ...

(born 1991), South Korean football full-back *

Gwak Dong-han Gwak Dong-han (Hangul: 곽동한; ; born 20 April 1992) is a South Korean judoka. He won the gold medal in the 90 kg event at the 2015 World Judo Championships. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the world (as of 8 February 2016). He was his coa ...

(born 1992), South Korean judo athlete * Kwak Ye-ji (born 1992), South Korean archer * Kwak Min-jeong (born 1994), South Korean figure skater *

Gwak Been Gwak Been (; born May 28, 1999) is South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He graduated from Baemyung High School and was selected for the Doosan Bears as the first pick at draft in 2018. References ...

(born 1999), South Korean baseball pitcher *

Kwak Dae-sung Kwak Dae-Sung is a retired South Korean judoka who is a two-time Asian champion (1996 and 1997). He won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of ...

, South Korean judo athlete

Film directors

* Kwak Young-jae (born 2000), South Korean film director *

Kwak Ji-kyoon Kwak Ji-kyoon (born Kwak Jung-kyoon, November 10, 1954 – May 25, 2010) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Kwak made his directorial debut in 1986 with the film ''Winter Wanderer'', and later directed '' Portrait of the Days of ...

(1954–2010), South Korean film director *

Kwak Jae-yong Kwak Jae-yong (born 22 May 1959) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyung Hee University. He achieved success with his debut film '' Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day'' in 1989, but the failure of his next ...

(born 1959), South Korean film director *

Kwak Kyung-taek Kwak Kyung-taek (; born 23 May 1966) is a South Korean film director best known for his 2001 record-breaking film ''Friend (2001 film), Friend''. Career ''Friend'', a drama where conflicting criminal alliances turn old friends into enemies, ...

(born 1966), South Korean film director

Entertainers

Kwak Do-won Kwak Do-won (born Kwak Byung-kyu on May 17, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Career Kwak is known for his roles in the films '' The Yellow Sea'' (2010), '' Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time'' (2012), ''The Attorney ''The Attorney'' () is a 20 ...

(born 1974), South Korean actor *

Ji Sung Ji Sung (born Kwak Tae-geun on 27 February 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas '' All In'' (2003), '' Save the Last Dance for Me'' (2004), ''New Heart'' (2007), ''Protect the Boss'' (2011), ' ...

(born Kwak Tae-geun, 1977), South Korean actor *

Kwak Hyun-hwa Kwak Hyun-hwa (; born March 2, 1981) is a South Korean actress, comedian, model and singer. Early life Kwak Hyun-hwa was born on 2 March 1981 in Busan, South Korea. She graduated from Ewha Womans University with a bachelor's degree A bach ...

(born 1981), South Korean actress, comedian and singer *

Kwak Ji-min Kwak Ji-min (born Kwak Sun-hee on February 13, 1985) is a South Korean actress. She is best known overseas for her leading role in the Kim Ki-duk film '' Samaritan Girl'', for which she won Best New Actress at the 2004 Busan Film Critics Awards. ...

(born 1985), South Korean actress *

Shin Hyun-been Shin Hyun-been (; born Kwak Hyun-been on April 10, 1986) is a South Korean actress. She started her acting career by starring in the film '' He's on Duty'' (2010) and television series ''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' (2011). Career Shin Hyun-been w ...

(born Kwak Hyun-been, 1986), South Korean actress *

Kwak Si-yang Kwak Si-yang (born Kwak Myeong-jin; January 15, 1987) is a South Korean actor. Career Kwak debuted as an actor in the 2014 drama '' Glorious Day''. His first major role was the film 2014 '' Night Flight''. He then appeared in the music drama, ' ...

(born 1987), South Korean actor *

Kwak Hee-sung Kwak Hee-sung is a South Korean actor and musician. He made his acting debut in 2012 with the cable series ''Korean Peninsula (TV series), Korean Peninsula''. Kwak is also the vocalist and bassist of the Rock music, rock band E.D.E.N. ("Every ...

(born 1990), South Korean actor *

Kwak Dong-yeon Kwak Dong-yeon (; born 19 March 1997), is a South Korean actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the television series ''My Husband Got a Family'' in 2012 for which he received Best Young Actor Award at the Korea Drama Awards. He then st ...

(born 1997), South Korean actor and singer * Kwak Jin-eon (born 1991), South Korean singer-songwriter * Aaron Kwak (born 1993), South Korean singer, former member of boy band

NU'EST NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single ...

Other

Gwak Jae-u Gwak Jae-u (; 1552–1617) was a Korean people, Korean military general and patriot from Uiryeong. He was called the "Red Robe General" (천강홍의장군, 天降紅衣將軍) after his habit of wearing a coat made of red silk. In 1592, nine days ...

(1552–1617), general under

Seonjo of Joseon Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

* Chung Hwan Kwak (born 1936),

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

leader * Kwak Pom-gi (born 1939), North Korean government official * Kwak Jae-gu (born 1954), South Korean poet * Kwak Yi-kyong (born 1979), South Korean

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights activist * Kwak Jaesik (born 1982), South Korean novelist * Kwak Jun-hyeok, South Korean associate professor of political science at

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

* Kwak Kyung-sup, South Korean professor of electrical engineering at

Inha University Inha University (인하대학교(仁荷大學校)) is a private research university located in Incheon, South Korea. Known traditionally for research and education in the engineering and physical sciences, the University was established by the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwak (Surname) Korean-language surnames