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Kim is the most common family name in Korea. In South Korea in 1985, out of a population of between roughly 40 and 45 million, there were approximately 8.8 million Kims — roughly 20% of the population. The name is also common in North Korea. It means "gold".
Despite being the most common name in Korea, not all Kims are related to each other, not even in the most remote sense. As with most other Korean family names, there are many Kim clans, each of which consists of individual Kim families. Most Kims belong to a handful of very large clans, but even within each clan, people in different families are not related to each other.
These distinctions are important, since Korean law used to prohibit intermarriage in the same clan, no matter how remote the relationship; now, however, only those in a relationship of second cousins or closer may not marry.
Famous Kims in Korean history have included the politician Kim Koo, the North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il, the South Korean presidents Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, the fashion designer Andre Kim, LPGA golfer Kim Mi-Hyun, Kim Jaekyu, and a man beheaded in Iraq named Kim Sun-il.
See also
External links
A 2001 Korea Now article explaining the clan structure (http://kn.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2001/04/07/200104070021.asp)
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