경주 김씨(慶州 金氏) — A surname of the Silla royal-house line, said to descend from Daebogong Kim Al-ji, founder of the Silla Kim clan.
Population — approx. 1,888,121 (2015 Census, Statistics Korea)
About the 경주 김씨 clan
A surname of the Silla royal-house line, said to descend from Daebogong Kim Al-ji, founder of the Silla Kim clan. In the 2015 Census the 경주 김씨 clan numbered about 1,888,121 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 김, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 경주) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Notable figures
김알지(founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan), 김명종(founder of the Yeongbun-gong branch), 김은열(founder of the Daean-gun branch), 김인관(founder of the Taesa-gong branch), 김장유(founder of the Pandopanseo-gong branch), 김순웅(founder of the Janggun-gong branch), 김위영(founder of the Hojang-gong branch), 김부식(compiled the Samguk Sagi), 김정희(Chusa, calligrapher), 김홍집(prime minister of Joseon)
Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).
경주 김씨 — Independence patriots
경주 김씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.
Great branches of the Gyeongju Kim clan and their founders
The Gyeongju Kim are descended from the royal house of Silla; the clan's progenitor is Kim Al-ji (金閼智). After Gyeongsun (敬順王), Silla's last king, submitted to Goryeo in 935, his descendants split into several great branches. Today the clan numbers about 1.8 million — the second-largest Kim clan after the Gimhae Kim. Its main branches and their founders are as follows.
Yeongbun-gong branch (永芬公派) — founder Kim Myeong-jong (金鳴鍾)
Kim Myeong-jong is said to have been the third son of King Gyeongsun; enfeoffed under Goryeo as Duke Yeongbun (永芬公), he became the founder of this branch, from which the later Sueun-gong branch (樹隱公派) and others descend.
Daean-gun branch (大安君派) — founder Kim Eun-yeol (金殷說)
Kim Eun-yeol is said to have been a son of King Gyeongsun (recorded in some accounts as the fourth son); enfeoffed as Lord Daean (大安君), he founded this branch, which was tied by marriage to the early Goryeo royal house and formed a major line of the clan.
Taesa-gong branch (太師公派) — founder Kim In-gwan (金仁琯)
Kim In-gwan served around the reign of King Yejong of Goryeo as Acting Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince (檢校太子太師), and founded the Taesa-gong branch. The most flourishing of the clan's branches, it gave rise to major lines such as the Sangchon-gong branch (桑村公派). His exact genealogical link to King Gyeongsun is not, however, fully documented.
Pandopanseo-gong branch (版圖判書公派) — founder Kim Jang-yu (金將有)
Kim Jang-yu served in late Goryeo as Minister (判書) of the Pando Bureau (版圖司), which oversaw census, land and taxation, and founded this branch.
Janggun-gong branch (將軍公派) — founder Kim Sun-ung (金順雄)
Kim Sun-ung is said to have been a general (大將軍) around the reign of King Mokjong in early Goryeo, and founded the Janggun-gong branch. He is also held by some to descend from Silla's King Wonseong (元聖王); the later Gyerim-gun branch (鷄林君派) and others descend from this line.
Hojang-gong branch (戶長公派) — founder Kim Wi-yeong (金魏英)
Kim Wi-yeong served in early Goryeo as Hojang (戶長), head of the local functionaries of Gyeongju, and founded this branch. The great scholar Kim Bu-sik (金富軾), who compiled the Samguk Sagi, came from this Hojang-gong line.
Branch genealogies and origins vary by lineage and jokbo, and some lines' connection to King Gyeongsun is not fully documented. Confirm your own line in your family's records.
How to build your 경주 김씨 tree
Start with yourself — sign in to get your own tree. Enter your name, birth year and clan seat (경주).