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Korean is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea, but over the past 75 years of political division, the two Koreas have developed some noticeable vocabulary differences. Beyond Korea, the language is recognised as a minority language in parts of China, namely Jilin Province, and specifically Yanbian Prefecture and Changbai County. It is also spoken by Sakhalin Koreans in parts of Sakhalin, the Russian island just north of Japan, and by the Koryo-saram in parts of Central Asia. The language has a few extinct relatives which—along with the Jeju language (Jejuan) of Jeju Island and Korean itself—form the compact Koreanic language family. Even so, Jejuan and Korean are not mutually intelligible with each other. The linguistic homeland of Korean is suggested to be somewhere in contemporary Northeast China. The hierarchy of the society from which the language originates deeply influences the language, leading to a system of speech levels and honorifics indicative of the formality of any given situation.
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.
A Korean name 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 (seong) and given name together. Korean names are descended from Chinese names as part of Sino-Korean vocabulary.
Lee, I, or Yi is the second-most-common surname in Korea, behind Kim (김). Historically, 李 was officially written as Ni in Korea. The spelling officially changed to I in 1933 when the initial sound rule was established. In North Korea, it is romanized as Ri because there is no distinction between the alveolar liquids /l/ and /r/ in modern Korean. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were 7,306,828 people by this name in South Korea or 14.7% of the population.
Kim or Gim is the most common surname in Korea. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were 10,689,959 people by this name in South Korea or 21.5% of the population. Even if the Korean surnames have the same pronunciation, there are different family clans(bon-gwan). Since there are dozens of these family clans, they all have different ancestors even if they are the same Kim in pronunciation. The family clans system that exists in Korea has a peculiarity different from the surnames of other countries. Kim is written as 김 (gim) in both North and South Korea. The hanja for Kim, 金, can also be transliterated as 금 (geum) which means "gold, metal, iron".
Um, also spelled as Uhm, Eom, Ohm or Om, is a relatively uncommon family name in Korea. It is written using the same character as the Chinese surname, Yan (嚴). It has only one clan, the Yeongwol Eom clan, based in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. According to the 2015 census in South Korea, there were 144,425 people carrying the Eom surname.
O or Oh is a family name in Korea. It is written using the hanja characters, 吳, 五, 伍, 吾, and 晤. According to the 2015 census in South Korea, there were 763,281 people carrying the O surname.
Choi is a Korean family surname. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were around 2.3 million people by this name in South Korea or roughly 4.7% of the population. In English-speaking countries, it is most often anglicized Choi, and sometimes also Chey, Choe or Chwe. Ethnic Koreans in the former USSR prefer the form Tsoi (Tsoy) especially as a transcription of the Cyrillic Цой.
Seok, also spelled Suk, is a rare Korean family name held by about 56,500 South Koreans, as well as an element in some Korean given names.
Article 809 of the Korean Civil Code was the codification of a traditional rule prohibiting marriage between men and women who have the same surname resulting from belonging to the same clan and possessing the same genealogical patriline and sharing the same ancestral home (bon-gwan). On 16 July 1997, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled the article unconstitutional. The National Assembly of South Korea passed an amendment to the Article in March 2002, which came into force on 31 March 2005, and prohibited marriage only between men and women who are closely related.
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. The term is composed of two Korean words: "Koryo", a historical name for Korea, and "saram", meaning "person" or "people".
Kang is a Korean family name. All together, the holders of this name number are 1,176,847 in South Korea, according to the 2015 national census, ranking 6th largest Korean family name. While the name "Kang" can actually represent any of the 5 different hanja, or Chinese characters, the great majority bear the surname 姜. The Chinese surname Jiāng also shares the same 姜 character.
Jang, Chang and Zang are romanizations of the common Korean surname 장. As of the South Korean census of 2015, there were 1,021,107 people by this name in South Korea or 2.05% of the population.
Chae, also spelled Chai, is a Korean family name and an element in some Korean given names. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.
Hwangbo is an uncommon family name in Korea. As of 2000, there were just 9,148 people by this name in South Korea. The Hwangbo surname has two clans, the Yeongcheon Hwangbo clan and the Hwangju Hwangbo clan. The name Hwangbo originated from the Chinese surname Huangfu.
Yeon or less commonly Youn (연) is a Korean surname. The name may correspond to the Chinese surnames Yan or Lian (連). The hanja 延 is much more common than 燕 and 連. Yeon may also refer to the extinct surname (淵).
Ban, also spelled Bahn or Pan, is a Korean family name and an element in Korean given names. Its meaning depends on the hanja used to write it.
Yong is a family name used in Korea, as well as a character in some Korean given names. It may also mean sun in some cases. As a family name, it may also be spelled Ryong in Korea. It is of Sino-Korean origin.
Yang is a Korean surname. According to the 2000 South Korean Census, 486,645 people in South Korea had the surname Yang.
References
- ↑ Zwetsloot, Jacco (12 April 2009). "Everything you ever wanted to know about Korean surnames". korea.net. Korean Culture and Information Service. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ↑ Population figures are based on 2015 records from the Korean National Statistical Office. The figures for the 22 most popular surnames include estimates from North Korea, while figures for other names refer to South Korea only.
