김해 김씨(金海 金氏) — The largest surname group in Korea, said to descend from King Suro (Kim Su-ro), founder of Garak (Geumgwan Gaya); about 4.46 million members in 2015. It reveres the Silla general Kim Yu-sin as its restoring ancestor and divides into 100-plus branches such as Gyeong-pa, Sagun-pa and Samhyeon-pa.
The largest surname group in Korea, said to descend from King Suro (Kim Su-ro), founder of Garak (Geumgwan Gaya); about 4.46 million members in 2015. It reveres the Silla general Kim Yu-sin as its restoring ancestor and divides into 100-plus branches such as Gyeong-pa, Sagun-pa and Samhyeon-pa. In the 2015 Census the 김해 김씨 clan numbered about 4,456,700 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 김, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 김해) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Gyeong-pa, Sagun-pa, Samhyeon-pa, Mungyeonggong-pa, Buhogun-pa, Champangong-pa, Angyeonggong-pa, Gonggangong-pa, Jwajeongseunggong-pa
The Gyeong-pa (京派) takes as its founder Kim Mok-gyeong (金牧卿), who was enfeoffed as Lord Geumnyeong (金寧君) in the late Goryeo period, and is therefore also called the Geumnyeonggun-pa. He is said to have been rewarded for helping put down the rebellion of Jo Jeok (曺頔) under King Chung-hye, and is recorded as a 51st-generation descendant of King Suro.
It is one of the large lines of the Gimhae Kim clan, with sub-branches such as the Champhangong-pa and Angyeonggong-pa beneath it. Sub-branch divisions differ between lineages, so please confirm yours in your own jokbo.
Sagun-pa (四君派) takes as its founder Kim Ik-gyeong (金益卿), who served as a gammu (local magistrate); it is also called the Gammu-gong branch. He is recorded as a 51st-generation descendant of King Suro. The origin of the name "Sagun" is explained differently across sources, so it is not asserted here.
Beneath it are several sub-branches, including the Gonggan-gong branch founded by Kim Jo (金銚), who served as Jiphyeonjeon editor and Minister of Rites under King Sejong. Sources differ on how far the Sagun branch extends, so please confirm membership against your own family's jokbo.
The Samhyeon-pa (三賢派) takes as its founder Kim Gwan (金管), who served as Pandopanseo (Minister of Land and Population Registers), and is therefore also called the Pandopanseogong-pa. He is recorded as a 49th-generation descendant of King Suro and is remembered for promoting Confucian learning. No confirmed explanation was found for which three figures the name "Samhyeon" (three worthies) refers to, so none is given here.
Sub-branch divisions and generation counts differ between lineages, so please confirm your branch in your own jokbo.
Mungyeonggong-pa (文敬公派) is a branch whose founder received the posthumous title "Mungyeong" (文敬); it is also called the Sijung Mungyeonggong branch. One source names Kim Tak (金琢), a Goryeo Munha Sijung who suppressed Choe Yu's rebellion and was made a meritorious subject under King Gongmin, as founder, while another gives Kim Yeong-yu, so the founder and generation (e.g. 57th) cannot be stated definitively.
The name is easily confused, as it is sometimes presented together with the Sijung-gong branch. Please confirm membership against your own family's jokbo.
Buhogun-pa is named after the military post of buhogun (副護軍, deputy guard commander) held by its founding ancestor; it is also called the Buhogun-gong branch. Two separate lines bear the same name: the Jeongguk line, founded by Kim Geo-gong (金巨公), and the Sanghyeon line, founded by Kim Cheon-ik (金天翼). Both are recorded as 56th-generation descendants of King Suro.
Because several lines share the name, it is necessary to tell which one a family belongs to. The founders' life years and detailed careers could not be verified and are omitted.
The Champangong-pa (參判公派) is a sub-branch of the Gyeong-pa (Geumnyeonggun-pa), and some sources name Kim Yeong-gyeon (金永堅) as founder. Founder and generation are recorded differently across sources, so they are not asserted. A branch of the same name also exists under the Samhyeon-pa (Kim Maeng), so the line must be distinguished. Please confirm in your own jokbo.
The Angyeonggong-pa (安景公派) is a sub-branch of the Gyeong-pa, founded by Kim Yeong-jeong (金永鼎), and is also introduced as the Bunseonggun-pa. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest, is known to have come from this branch. Lineage details vary between clans; please confirm in your own jokbo.
The Gonggangong-pa (恭簡公派) is a sub-branch of the Sagun-pa (Gammugong-pa), founded by Kim Jo (金銚), who served as Jiphyeonjeon editor and Minister of Rites under King Sejong. Sources differ on the scope and lineage of the Sagun-pa; please confirm in your own jokbo.
The Jwajeongseunggong-pa (左政丞公派) is a line of the Sanghyeon system tracing to Kim Man-hui (金萬希), said to have served as Left Chief State Councillor in Goryeo and to have settled on Jeju. Most Gimhae Kims on Jeju are said to belong to it, but his career is genealogical tradition that is hard to verify in official histories.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
김수로왕(founder), 김유신(Silla general), 김홍도(painter), 김만덕(Jeju merchant), 김대건(first Korean priest), 김원봉(Uiyeoldan leader), 김상옥(independence activist), 김영랑(poet), 김환기(painter), 김대중(15th President), 김종필(Prime Minister)
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김해 김씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.
김해 김씨 figures listed by the Presidential Committee or the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators (Minjok Munje Institute).
The Gimhae Kim clan (金海 金氏), seated in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, is the most populous surname group in Korea. Its founder is King Suro (金首露王) of Garak (Geumgwan Gaya), and the Silla general Kim Yu-sin is revered as the clan's restoring ancestor.
The 2015 census counted 4,456,700 members, ranking first among all clans and accounting for roughly 40 percent of all Kims (4,124,934 in the 2000 census). They are especially numerous in Busan, South Gyeongsang, Seoul and Gyeonggi.
According to the Garakgukgi in the Samguk Yusa, in the year 42 a voice from heaven was heard at Gujibong; the nine chieftains (gugan) sang the Gujiga, and six golden eggs descended in a golden box. The first child to emerge was Suro, and the surname Kim (金, "gold") is explained as coming from the golden egg. This is part of a founding legend and should be distinguished from established history.
His queen Heo Hwang-ok is said to have come by ship from the kingdom of Ayuta, and to have borne ten princes and two princesses. This too is legendary in character, and scholars offer varied interpretations. The Gimhae seat is explained as taking shape when the Gimhae prefecture was established in Goryeo; the alternate name "Garak Kim" is said to derive from the kingdom of Garak.
In 532 the last king, Gu-hyeong, is said to have yielded the kingdom to King Beopheung of Silla. His son Kim Mu-ryeok rose to gakgan in Silla and is known as a commander of Sinju who took part in campaigns such as the Battle of Gwansanseong (554). The line continued through his son Seo-hyeon to his grandson Kim Yu-sin; the family married into Silla's royal house, took a place among the jingol aristocracy, and played a major role in the unification of the Three Kingdoms. Kim Yu-sin is said to have been posthumously honored as Great King Heungmu.
Clan genealogical tradition holds that the family prospered in Goryeo with several chief-minister-level figures. However, most present branches take figures of mid-to-late Goryeo or later as founders, and the lineage between King Suro and these founders differs between clans and genealogies, so it cannot be stated definitively. In Joseon the clan is said to have been hit by events such as the Literati Purge of 1498, in which Kim Il-son was involved; Kim U-hang under King Sukjong is often cited as a chief state councillor from the clan.
The three main direct lines are the Gyeong-pa (Kim Mok-gyeong), Sagun-pa (Kim Ik-gyeong) and Samhyeon-pa (Kim Gwan), joined by the Mungyeonggong-pa, Buhogun-pa and the Jeongguk, Seoji, Sanghyeon, Sanginn, Jinui and Cheonyeo lines, for dozens to well over a hundred branches (sources say 142, 148 and so on). Many on Jeju descend from the Jwajeongseung-gong line, traced to Kim Man-hui, said to have settled on the island in Goryeo.
A tradition says that a prince of Suro and Heo Hwang-ok took his mother's surname, giving rise to the Gimhae Heo; the Incheon Yi is explained as a later offshoot of the Taein Heo. For this reason the Garak Central Clan Association is presented as a joint body of the Gimhae Kim, Gimhae Heo and Incheon Yi. Gimneung, Jinju and Mujang Kim are also said to have split from the clan, while claims for Namyang and Ungcheon Kim are disputed.
Some accounts also distinguish "early Kim" (Gaya line) from "later Kim" descending from Kim Ryeom of the Silla line; since both are counted together in the census, the number of true descendants of Suro may be smaller.
In Seosang-dong, Gimhae, stands the tomb said to be King Suro's (Historic Site No. 73). Within the precinct are Sungseonjeon, honoring the king and Queen Heo, and Sungandeon, honoring the second to ninth kings of Garak; memorial rites are held in spring and autumn. Deogyangjeon in Sancheong enshrines King Gu-hyeong, and Sungmujeon in Gyeongju enshrines Kim Yu-sin. Gaya-era sites in Gimhae such as the Daeseong-dong tumuli and Bonghwang-dong site exist, but they cannot simply be equated with the clan's ancestral remains.
Members are spread nationwide, centered on Busan and South Gyeongsang, with clan villages known in Seoul/Gyeonggi, South Jeolla (Naju, Gwangyang, Jindo, Haenam and others), Chungcheong and Jeju. The Urok Kim of Gachang, Daegu (said to be a bestowed-surname line) and the Hambak Kim of Cheongdo have their own organizations. The main body is the Gimhae Kim Daejongjung, alongside the Garak Central Clan Association and branch associations.
Silla and Goryeo: Kim Mu-ryeok, Kim Seo-hyeon, Kim Yu-sin and Kim Heum-sun were Silla generals; in Goryeo, Kim Mok-gyeong (Lord Geumnyeong) and Kim Man-hui, traditionally the Jeju settler, appear in genealogies.
Joseon: The historian Kim Il-son, State Councillor Kim U-hang, the painter Kim Hong-do, the Jeju merchant Kim Man-deok who relieved famine, and Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean Catholic priest, are known as Gimhae Kims.
Modern era: Kim Won-bong of the Uiyeoldan, Kim Sang-ok, the linguist Kim Du-bong, Kim Jun-yeon, the poet Kim Yeong-rang, the painter Kim Whanki, Kim Ju-yeol whose death sparked the April 19 Revolution, President Kim Dae-jung and Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil. Clan attributions may vary by source.
The clan has compiled genealogies around a lineage chart from Suro through Kim Yu-sin and Kim Heum-sun, and branch charts for the Gyeong-pa, Sagun-pa, Samhyeon-pa, Mungyeonggong-pa and others. Each branch has its own generation-name characters; the Samhyeon-pa is said to run on average two to three generations "higher" than the Gyeong-pa and Sagun-pa, so generation counts can differ between branches. Please confirm your branch and generation in your own jokbo.
Reference: Garakgukgi in the Samguk Yusa, Namuwiki and Wikipedia entries on the clan, among others. Details may vary by clan and genealogy.
For other branch associations, see the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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