Im or Lim is a common Korean family name. The surname is identical to the Chinese character of the same name. According to the initial law of the Korean language, both "Im" and "Lim" are interchangeable.

History

The first clan branch is the Supul Rim (수풀 림, meaning "Forest-Rim") and its Hanja character is 林. The Supul Rim or Lim or Im branch consists of two large clan houses; the first is Naju (early ''Hoijin'') and the second, which is the elder branch, is Pyeongtaek. Members of this branch often write their names as both 임 (Im; more common) and 림 (Rim or Lim; initial law). The character 林 means "forest". The second clan branch is the Matgil Im (맡길 임) or Mateul Im (맡을 임) and its Hanja character is 任. The Matgil Im/Mateul Im branch consists of one large clan house called

Pungcheon Im clan The Pungcheon Im clan () is a Korean clan based in Kwail County, South Hwanghae Province. According to the research held in 2015, the number of Pungcheon Im clan’s member was 143881. Their founder was who was from Shaoxing, China and came to ...

and a smaller clan house called Jangheung (장흥). Members of this clan branch both write and pronounce their names as 임 (Im). The character 任 means "trusted/to bear, duty".

Romanization

When 林 (림 or 임) is romanized, it is spelled as "Rim" or "Im" in

McCune–Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization () is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems. A modified version of McCune–Reischauer was the official romanization system in South Korea until 2002, when it was replaced by the Re ...

and

Revised Romanization of Korean 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 "Lim". When 任 (임) is romanized, it is spelled as "Im" in

and

, or sometimes spelled "Yim". Statistics from the year 2000 show that there were 762,767 수풀 림 (林, Rim) and 172,726 맡길 임 (任, Im) in South Korea.

Notable people of the past

The following is a list of notable people of the past with the Korean family name Im/Lim/Rim. People should only be included in this list if they have their own Wikipedia articles or if they are discussed in a non-trivial fashion in Wikipedia articles on notable groups or events with which they are associated. Pratt's list contains 8 names.Pratt, p.548 *

Im Sahong Im Sahong (; 1445–1506) was a Korean scholar official and member of the royal family of Joseon Dynasty. He was a close minister of King Yeonsangun of Joseon . His courtesy name was Iui (이의). Family * Great-Great-Grandfather ** Im Gun- ...

(1445–1506) * Im Kkeokjeong (fl. 1559-1562), leader of the Hwanghae peasant rebellion (Noklimdang). *

Im Che Im Che (; 1549 – 1587) was a literate Confucianist Yangban in Joseon. Works Im penned the following sijo upon the death of famed gisaeng, Hwang Jini. The following two poems were exchanged between Im Che and his lover, gisaeng Hanu (한� ...

(1549-1587), pen name "Paekho", poet of the Joseon period. * Im Gyeong-eop (1594 – 1646), general of the Joseon period, instrumental in protecting Korea from Manchu invasion. * Im Yunjidang (1721-1793), she wrote the ''Yunjidang Yugo''. *

Im Sang-ok Im Sang-ok (Korean: 임상옥, 林尙沃) (1779–1855) was a trader in the middle of Joseon Dynasty. His Bon-gwan is Jeonju, Ja is Gyeongyak (경약, 景若), Ho is (가포, 稼圃). He was born in Uiju, Pyeonganbukdo. Early life Im Sang-ok wa ...

(1779–1885), a major ginseng trader of Joseon.

Notable people of the recent times

* Im Jae-hyuk, South Korean part-time actor * Dami Im, Australian-Korean singer and songwriter * Im Chang-kyun (stage name I.M), South Korean rapper and member of boy group Monsta X * Im Chang-jung, South Korean actor and singer * Im Dong-hyun, South Korean archer * Im Heung-soon, South Korean artist and director * Im Jin-ah (stage name Nana), South Korean singer, actress, and model, member of After School * Im Kwon-taek, South Korean film director * Im Na-yeon, South Korean singer and member of girl group Twice * Im Sang-soo, South Korean film director * Im Se-mi, South Korean actress * Im Si-wan, South Korean singer and actor, member of boy group ZE:A * Im So-eun (stage name NC.A), South Korean singer * Im Soo-hyang, South Korean actress * Im Soo-jung, South Korean actress * Im Sung-han, South Korean television screenwriter * Danny Im (stage name Taebin), Korean-American singer and member of group

1TYM 1TYM (Korean: 원타임, pronounced as "One Time") was a four-member South Korean group. They were Teddy Park (also known as Park Hong-jun), Oh Jinhwan, Song Baekyoung, and Danny Im (also known as Im Taebin). History In the late 1990s, YG CE ...

Im Won-sik Im Won-sik (; June 24, 1919 – August 26, 2002) was a Korean conductor, composer, and musical pedagogue. According to his obituary in the ''Asahi Shimbun'', Im was the "father of the Korean classical music world"; he has also been referred to as ...

, Korean conductor, composer, and educator * Im Yoon-ah, South Korean singer and actress, member of girl group

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

* Lim Hyung-joo, South Korean operatic pop (popera) tenor and classical crossover singer * Lim Chang-yong, South Korean baseball pitcher *

Dong-Hyek Lim Dong-Hyek Lim (born July 25, 1984 in Seoul) is a South Korean classical pianist. Lim has previously studied with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hanover and received the Samsung Culture Scholarship and the Ezoe Scholarship ...

, South Korean classical pianist * Lim Dong-won, retired South Korean politician *

Lim Eun-ji Lim Eun-ji ( Korean: 임은지; born 2 April 1989) is a South Korean pole vaulter. She is the current South Korean national record holder in the event indoors and a former outdoor record holder. Having previously competed in the 100 metres hur ...

, South Korean pole vaulter * Lim Hyo-jun, South Korean short track speed skater, Olympic gold medalist * Lim Jae-beom (stage name Jay B), South Korean singer and actor, member of boy band Got7 * Im Hyun-sik, South Korean singer and member of boy band BtoB * Lim Jeong-hee, South Korean singer * Lim Jeong-hyun, South Korean guitarist * Lim Ju-hwan, South Korean actor * Lim Na-young, South Korean singer, member of South Korean girl groups I.O.I and Pristin * Lim Seulong, South Korean singer and actor, member of boy group 2AM * Lim Sungbin (stage name Beenzino), South Korean rapper * Lim Yo-hwan, South Korean former professional StarCraft player * Rhim Ju-yeon, South Korean comics writer * Rim Jong-sim, North Korean Olympic weightlifter *

Yim Bang-eun Yim Bang-eun (born 25 April 1978) is a former South Korean badminton player from Samsung Electro-Mechanics team. Yim competed for Korea in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's doubles with partner Kim Yong-hyun. They had a bye in the ...

, South Korean badminton player *

Yim Soon-rye Yim Soon-rye (born January 1, 1961) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. She is considered one of the few leading female auteurs of Korean New Wave cinema. Career Education Born in 1961 in Incheon, Yim Soon-rye graduated from Han ...

, South Korean film director * Yim Sung-ah, South Korean professional golfer * Lim Young-woong, South Korean trot singer

Notes

References