| Jokbo | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 족보 |
| Hanja | 族譜 |
| Revised Romanization | jokbo |
| McCune–Reischauer | chokpo |
The jokbo or chokbo is a Korean genealogical record equivalent to the family tree. Each family has one jokbo which has been passed down through numerous generations, though copies are often printed and distributed among family members as necessary. The firstborn son of each family (in a form of primogeniture takes the actual jokbo (as opposed to the copies) with him and continues the genealogy and family line. It was often used in pre-modern (i.e. pre-Japanese occupation) Korea as proof of being of the yangban class (the Korean equivalent of the European gentry or nobility; it is best equated to an aristocracy).
While many clans still maintain jokbos, their function (which was very important, heavily relied-upon, and legally binding before the modern era) is largely relegated to clan record-keeping and other minor (i.e. not legally binding) social roles, as modern democracies such as South Korea do not determine or stratify social classes in such a manner.