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Why so many Koreans are called Kim
economist ^ | 9-8-2014

Posted on 10/13/2014 7:15:13 AM PDT by Citizen Zed

A SOUTH KOREAN saying claims that a stone thrown from the top of Mount Namsan, in the centre of the capital Seoul, is bound to hit a person with the surname Kim or Lee. One in every five South Koreans is a Kim—in a population of just over 50m. And from the current president, Park Geun-hye, to rapper PSY (born Park Jae-sang), almost one in ten is a Park. Taken together, these three surnames account for almost half of those in use in South Korea today. Neighbouring China has around 100 surnames in common usage; Japan may have as many as 280,000 distinct family names. Why is there so little diversity in Korean surnames?

Korea’s long feudal tradition offers part of the answer.

(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: kim; korea; korean; koreans; name; names
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I had to read the story that went with this picture...
1 posted on 10/13/2014 7:15:13 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
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To: Citizen Zed

Someone tell MacDonald to stand up straight!


2 posted on 10/13/2014 7:26:24 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy ("Now is not the time for fear. That comes later.")
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To: Citizen Zed

Why is there so little diversity in Korean surnames?


Because Napoleon never got that far.

I am of Dutch heritage and Napoleonic law was instituted in Europe (conquered nations) approx. 1820 requiring new names. This also made the govt the main record keeper, not the church. I can traced my name back to 5 clans who chose our name. A family could pick the name together or an individual could. Names could not be duplicated within the “county” level of govt. Some picked colorful names like “outhouse” “stuck in pants” thinking it would not last but then they were stuck with the name, you know how govt bureaucracy is.


3 posted on 10/13/2014 7:34:13 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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To: ClearCase_guy

or not...


4 posted on 10/13/2014 7:35:27 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Citizen Zed

I have a friend from China whose last name is Lee. He notes that “Lee,” spelled in various ways, is also found in Korea, Vietnam, England, Ireland, Norway and German-speaking countries.


5 posted on 10/13/2014 7:36:00 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Citizen Zed; KC_Lion

Actual names are Gim, Ee, and Bak/Pak but Koreans are awesomely tolerant of westernized spellings and stuff.


6 posted on 10/13/2014 7:36:46 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Citizen Zed

Because it’s short and easy to spell.


7 posted on 10/13/2014 7:36:53 AM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class.)
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To: PeterPrinciple

Koreans actually differentiate between different Kim clans usually based on geography. This makes marriage law a bit complicated when two Kims want to be married.


8 posted on 10/13/2014 7:38:04 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: reg45

other Korean surnames I like are Song and Moon


9 posted on 10/13/2014 7:39:06 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Citizen Zed

Nice pic


10 posted on 10/13/2014 7:39:45 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Fiji Hill

There was a book that came out a few years ago claiming that the Chinese reached North America in 1421. I saw the author interviewed on TV and he did not appear to be a raving maniac. I don’t think he used the Lee family of Virginia as evidence for the Chinese getting to North America.


11 posted on 10/13/2014 7:39:47 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Citizen Zed

One high school where I have substitute taught has a lot of Korean-Americans, and I have had classes where half the students were named Kim. At another school in the same district which has a lot of Gujaratis from India, I have taught classes where half or more of the students had the last name Patel.


12 posted on 10/13/2014 7:41:04 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Citizen Zed

And still no sighting of Kim Jong Un.


13 posted on 10/13/2014 7:44:34 AM PDT by lurk
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To: Fiji Hill

thank goodness those are different schools, what if they intermarry and we get a lot of Kim Patels? (Korean surnames go first)... :p


14 posted on 10/13/2014 7:45:33 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Citizen Zed

The surnames of the German Jews are a special case, as they were introduced later, in the late 18th to early 19th century, per fiat.[8] The Prussian authorities imposed made-up and sometimes derogatory names. For instance, the name “Waldlieferant” (lit.: forest supplier) was “created” to ridicule a Jewish timber trader. Even way more offensive espressions (”Afterduft”; lit.: anus odor) were in use. This is by no means the rule, though; on the contrary, those surnames most quickly recognized as probably Jewish in origin are distinctly poetical ones, probably as they were made-up choices by the people themselves (e.g. Rosenzweig). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_namee


And sometimes the bureaucrat picked the name for you........


15 posted on 10/13/2014 7:45:44 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple
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To: Fiji Hill
I have a friend from China whose last name is Lee. He notes that “Lee,” spelled in various ways, is also found in Korea, Vietnam, England, Ireland, Norway and German-speaking countries.

Its an extended family.


16 posted on 10/13/2014 7:49:32 AM PDT by Pilsner
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To: Verginius Rufus
There was a book that came out a few years ago claiming that the Chinese reached North America in 1421. I saw the author interviewed on TV and he did not appear to be a raving maniac. I don’t think he used the Lee family of Virginia as evidence for the Chinese getting to North America.

"Chu," spelled various ways, is also a fairly common name in China. As evidence for his case, the author might also have cited Benjamin Chew, a politician and prominent jurist in colonial Pennsylvania.

17 posted on 10/13/2014 7:49:49 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Citizen Zed

Because it fits nicely into those little oval shirt patches...


18 posted on 10/13/2014 7:50:34 AM PDT by Hatteras
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To: Fiji Hill

Yeah, Lee is the worst, it is everywhere. Or maybe it’s the best.


19 posted on 10/13/2014 7:52:05 AM PDT by jocon307
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To: lurk
I like watching subtitled Korean show called "Running Man", their names are Lee Kwang-Soo (giraffe), Kim Jong-Kook (tiger), Yoo Jae-Suk (grasshopper), Ji Suk-Jin (Impala), Song Ji-Hyo (Ace), Kang Hee-gun (or Kang Gary), Ha Dong-Hoon (Ha Ha).

...................

You often cannot tell a male name from a female name. Although if it as Eun-something or something-Hye it's probably a girls name.

20 posted on 10/13/2014 7:56:20 AM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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