Bon-gwan
Bon-gwan is the concept of clan in Korea, which is used to distinguish clans that happen to share a same family name. Since Korea has been traditionally a Confucian country, this clan system is similar to ancient Chinese distinction of clan names or xing and lineage names or shi.
A Korean clan is a group of people that share the same paternal ancestor and is indicated by the combination of a bon-gwan and a family name.
However, a bon-gwan isn't treated as a part of a Korean person's name. The bon-gwan and the family name are passed on from a father to his children, thus ensuring that persons in the same paternal lineage share the same combination of the bon-gwan and the family name. A bon-gwan does not change by marriage or adoption.
Bon-gwan are used to distinguish different lineages that bear the same family name. For example, the Gyeongju Kim and the Gimhae Kim are considered different clans, even though they happen to share the same family name Kim. In this case, Gyeongju and Gimhae are the respective bon-gwan of these clans.
Different family names sharing the same bon-gwan sometimes trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor, e.g. the ' clan and the ' clan share Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as their common paternal ancestor, though such case is exceptional.
According to the population and housing census of 2000 conducted by the South Korean government, there are a total of 286 surnames and 4,179 clans.
Restrictions on marriage and adoption
Traditionally, a man and a woman in the same clan could not marry, so the combination of the bon-gwan and the family name of a husband had to differ from that of a wife. Until 1997, this was also the law, but this was ruled unconstitutional - and now DNA tests have superseded bon-gwan as an indication of one's lineage.When adopting a child, the adoptive father and the adoptive child must share the same combination of the bon-gwan and the family name. However, in exceptional circumstances, adoptive parents can change an adopted child’s family name for the adopted child's welfare. In this case, the adoptive parents must visit a family court to request permission to change the family name.
List
| English | Hangul | Hanja | 2015 South Korean population |
| Gimhae Kim clan | 金海 金氏 | ||
| Miryang Park clan | 密陽 朴氏 | ||
| Jeonju Yi clan | 全州 李氏 | ||
| Gyeongju Kim clan | 慶州 金氏 | ||
| Gyeongju Yi clan | 慶州 李氏 | ||
| Jinju Kang clan | 晉州 姜氏 | ||
| Gyeongju Choi clan | 慶州 崔氏 | ||
| Gwangsan Kim clan | 光山 金氏 | ||
| Papyeong Yoon clan | 坡平尹氏 | ||
| Cheongju Han clan | 淸州 韓氏 | ||
| Andong Gwon clan | 安東 權氏 | ||
| Andong Jang clan | 仁同 張氏 | ||
| Pyeongsan Shin clan | 平山申氏 | ||
| Sunheung Ahn clan | 順興 安氏 | ||
| Andong Kim clan | 安東 金氏 | ||
| Namyang Hong clan | 南陽 洪氏 | ||
| Dongnae Jeong clan | 東萊 鄭氏 | ||
| Haeju Oh clan | 海州 吳氏 | ||
| Jeonju Choi clan | 全州 崔氏 | ||
| Nampyeong Moon clan | 南平 文氏 | ||
| Dalseong Seo clan | 達城 徐氏 | ||
| Changnyeong Jo clan | 昌寧 曺氏 | ||
| Suwon Baek clan | 水原 白氏 | ||
| Gyeongju Jeong clan | 慶州 鄭氏 | ||
| Hanyang Jo clan | 漢陽 趙氏 |
- :Category:Korean clans