Korean clans

Korean clans are groups of Korean people that share a paternal ancestor. They are indicated by the combination of a bongwan (Korean: 본관; lit. 'place of origin') and a family name. Although commonly called bongwan, the term used in South Korean law is bon (Korean: 본; lit. 'origin'). Korean clans distinguish families that share their family name. The bongwan identifies descent groups by geographic location of origin. For example, the Gyeongju Kim and the Gimhae Kim are considered different families. They share the family name Kim but have different bongwan: Gyeongju and Gimhae. Some families share a bongwan and trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor but are considered distinct. For example, the Gimhae Kim clan and the Gimhae Heo clan share Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as their common paternal ancestor. The bongwan and the surname are passed on from a father to his children to denote paternal lineage. A bongwan does not change by marriage or normal adoption. A clan name is not considered part of a Korean person's name; it can be considered rude to call a person by their clan name. Families in Korea have one of the most meticulous and comprehensive systems of ancestry tracking in the world. Still, counts of surnames and clan names differ. The population and housing census of 2000 conducted by Statistics Korea found 286 surnames and 4,179 clans, while the 2015 census reported 1,507 surnames and 36,744 family clans.