Park (Korean surname)

Country Korea
Parent house Itself
Titles King of Silla
Founded 57 BC
Founder King Hyeokgeose
Final ruler King Gyeongae
Dissolution Fall of Silla in 935
Park
Hangul 박
Hanja 朴
Revised Romanization Bak
McCune–Reischauer Pak
Percentage of family names in South Korea
  Kim
  Lee
  Park
  Choi
  Jung

Park is a notable Korean surname, traditionally founded by King Hyeokgeose (혁거세) and theoretically inclusive of all his descendants. In Chinese characters (Hanja), it was written as 朴; in Hangul, it is written 박. The name "Park" is usually assumed to come from the Korean noun 박 bak, which means "bottle gourd," or the Korean adjective stem 밝 balk-, which means "bright."

Founding legend

According to Samguk Sagi, a white horse led a village chief to the location of a big egg, and King Hyeokgeose was said to have been hatched from it amid rays of light. the ray of light, or radiance, in pure Korean, "밝" is pronounced "Park" or "Bhak". The Chinese character "朴" (pronounced piao in Mandarin and boku in Japanese) was chosen in antiquity to represent the sound.

Position in society

King Hyeokgeose was said to have founded the Korean kingdom of Silla at the age of thirteen in 57 BC. Park was one of three houses of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Among the houses of Park, Kim, and Seok, princes rotated on the throne of Silla. Sometime in the third century, the Kingship remained in the Kim clan, but the Parks continued to provide the mainstay of its aristocracy as well as the majority of Queens. According to Kojiki, one of Park Princes, referred to as Amenohiboko migrated to Japan, founding the Tajima Clan in the third century. During the last century of the dynasty, the Park family regained the position of the ruling house, when the Kim clan lost their mandate of heaven. King Sindeok regained the throne for the Park family in 913, continuing it for three kings until 927. Gyeongmyeong of Silla and King Gyeongae were the next two Silla monarchs from the Park clan. Gyeon Hwon, the Hubaekje leader killed him after taking Geumseong (Gyeongju) in 927 and there were no more kings from the Parks after him.

During the Unified Silla the Miryang Park Clan, along with Kimhae Kim clan became the most prominent of the Aristocracy, based on the Bone Rank System. Within the bone rank system, the two clans of Kimhae Kims and Miryang Parks were considered the most Jingol, or "True Bone". As Seong gol, or Divine bones died out through intermarriage, these two clans became the dominant noble houses on the peninsula following the conquest of rival dynasties. The bone rank system persists to this day via the common Korean saying, "bbyeodae itneun jiban" (family with bones) to refer to families of deep noble heritage.

After the fall of Silla, it continued as a major noble house of Goryeo. During the Goryeo dynasty, many of the people who passed the highest-level state examination, which was implemented to recruit ranking officials during the Goryeo Dynasty, were Parks. The first General to defeat the Mongols in world history was General Park Seo, who commanded the successful defense of the fortress of Guju in 1231 against the forces led by Mongol General Sartaq.

During Joseon dynasty, Parks continued to thrive as one of the main Yangban households. With the Gabo Reform of 1894, when the caste system was abolished, many peasants adopted the surname of Park, bloating the population of the Park family. Simultaneously with the abolition of the Gwageo national service examination, the Yangban system came to an end. During the Japanese Occupation Period, three of the ten Korean aristocrats ko:귀족원 (일본) admitted into Japanese House of Peers ko:일본 제국의회 were of the Park Clan. With the social turbulence caused by the Korean War of 1950, many former peasants carry on as original members of the Park clan today. True family members maintain their ancient genealogy passed down through the families, as well as by the convention of naming their children according to strict Confucian system.

Notable people

Kings

Name Period of reign

Soldiers

Actors

Actresses

Athletes

Directors

Entertainers

Historical people

Literary Figures

Politicians

Singers

Voice actors

Kings of the Park dynasty

# Name Period of reign
1 Hyeokgeose of Silla 57 BC – 4 AD
2 Namhae of Silla 4–24
3 Yuri of Silla 24–57
4 Pasa of Silla 80–112
5 Jima of Silla 112–134
6 Ilseong of Silla 134–154
7 Adalla of Silla 154–184
8 Sindeok of Silla 912–917
9 Gyeongmyeong of Silla 917–924
10 Gyeongae of Silla 924–927

Clans

After fall of Silla, the Park Family was divided into several clans. According to the last census in 2000 , there are 161 Park clans in South Korea.

Both former President of South Korea (196–1979), Park Chung-Hee and new President, Park Geun-hye are of the Goryeong clan of the Parks.

Clan name (Region) Clan progenitor Percentage (%) (2000)
Miryang[1] Grand Prince Eon-chim of Milseong 77.8 (further divided into 12 families calls "Pa")
Bannam (Naju) Lord Hojang 3.6
Juksan (Andong) Grand Prince Eunnip of Juksan 1.4
Goryeong Park Eun-seong, Grand Prince of Goyang 1.0
Yeonghae (Yeongdeok) Park Je-sang 0.7
Chungju Park Sang 0.6
Myeoncheon (Dangjin) Park Sul-hui 0.1
Pyeongsan King Hyeokgeose, founder of Silla 0.01

See also

<div style="font-size:90%>— Royal house —
House of Park
Founding year: 57 BC
Preceded by
Founding dynasty		 Ruling House of Silla
57 BC – 57 AD 		Next:
House of Seok
Preceded by
House of Seok		 Ruling House of Silla
80 – 184 		Next:
House of Seok

References

  1. ↑ http://milyang-park.com/
Preceded by
House of Kim		 Ruling House of Silla
912 – 927 		Next:
abdicated