Talk:Kim (Korean name)

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Could we get an explanation of why so many Koreans are called Kim? (And why nearly all the rest are called Pak or Li). Adam 05:29, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)

At some point in the dusty or not-so-dusty past, the majority of people (i.e., the peasantry) did not have family names, just as was the case in Europe a few hundred years ago. When families starting taking names, there was a tendency to choose a well-known name of an aristocratic family (since they already had family names, and you could, I guess, strive for illustriousness by association). Kim/Gim, Pak/Park/Bak, and Lee/Rhee/Yi are all dynastic family names (from various different kingdoms: see Rulers of Korea), and so were popular choices. Wang, on the other hand, was also a dynastic name (the ruling family of Goryeo had the name), but an episode occurred early in the reign of King Taejo of Joseon in which, in a rage to suppress perceived malevolent influence over the new government by the deposed royal family, Taejo had most Wangs in the country killed; thus, Wang is now not a very common family name.

The Wang bit I know for certain; as for the rest, I'm pretty sure I've read this explanation in a book somewhere, but I wouldn't add it to the main article until I'd checked my references. --Sewing 15:57, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Actually, as it happens, the external link explaining the clan structure that I added to the article also explains why there are so many Kims, Parks, and Lees. --Sewing 16:55, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for that explanation, Sewing. I think some text to that effact ought to be added to the article, because it is always the first question westerners ask about Korean names. Adam 02:46, 13 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I removed the sentence, "Despite being the most common name in Korea, not all Kims are related to each other, not even in the most remote sense.". How can one be sure that two individuals are not related to each other at all? From a scientific point of view, all humans have a common ancestor (also, most major religions hold this as well—as far as I know). Is there any evidence that some of these people have no relation whatsoever? — Knowledge Seeker দ 03:48, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] List of everyone

Surely a Wikipedia article is not the place to list everyone who shares a common name? I have just cleared up Kim, the disambig page, which was even worse. I suggest removing the list, and tellign readers to search for the full name of the person they want. BrainyBabe 13:17, 6 February 2007 (UTC)