South Korea Genealogical Records

Newspapers Covering South Korea

Name Card Index to AP Stories (1905-1990)

An index to over 2.1 million people mentioned in Associated Press stories, including name, subject, location, date and a reference to the article.

AP Stories & Newsfeatures (1937-1985)

An index to and digital images of hundreds-of-thousands of world newspaper articles.

Subject Card Index to AP Stories (1937-1985)

An index to around 500,000 Associated Press articles.

South Korea Directories & Gazetteers

CIA World Factbook (1994)

A statistic and descriptive gazetteer of nations.

World Foreign Gazetteer (1998)

Useful for locating places, this searchable gazetteer gives brief details, latitude and longitude for more than 1.5 million features, places and regions throughout the world.

South Korea Cemeteries

Billion Graves (1200-Present)

Photographs and transcriptions of millions of gravestones from cemeteries around the world.

South Korea Histories & Books

Ancestry Member Stories (6000 BC-Present)

Over 7 million remembrances and historic details submitted by Ancestry members. Useful for local historians.

Ancestry Member Photos & Documents (6000 BC-Present)

Over 60 million historic photographs and documents submitted to Ancestry. This rich collection contains many rare sources of interest to local historians and will be relevant to most genealogical research.

South Korea Occupation & Business Records

Cricket Archive (1844-Present)

A database of cricket scores and players.

Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering South Korea

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.

Ancestry Member Family Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A compilation of lineage-linked family trees submitted by Ancestry users. The database contains over 2 billion individuals and is searchable by numerous metrics.

Ancestry World Tree (6000 BC-1997)

A collection of legacy trees submitted by Ancestry users containing nearly 400 million individuals.

South Korea Royalty, Nobility & Heraldry Records

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.

South Korea Maps

Old Maps Online (1497-2010)

An interactive index to thousands of maps covering the world, continents, countries and regions. The majority of maps cover Britain and Ireland.

Most Common Surnames in South Korea

RankSurnameIncidenceFrequency
1Kim11,028,6641:5
2I7,531,6001:7
3Pak4,289,6121:12
4Chong2,450,6591:21
5Choe2,399,4731:21
6Cho1,500,9371:34
7Kang1,298,7211:39
8Yu1,158,0391:44
9Yun1,058,4811:48
10Chang1,044,1401:49
11Im1,031,4711:50
12Sin1,003,9431:51
13Song916,1861:56
14Chon878,7101:58
15So816,5651:63
16Han807,0581:63
17O799,6181:64
18Hwang713,0371:72
19Kwon712,8751:72
20An711,7491:72
21Hong589,2601:87
22Yang539,1201:95
23Son497,9801:103
24Ko481,9931:106
25Mun472,2861:108
26Pae414,4021:124
27Paek387,3511:132
28Ho341,7921:150
29No319,8881:160
30Chu298,9381:171
31Nam283,6281:181
32Sim279,9971:183
33Ha236,9461:216
34Ku214,1871:239
35Kwak207,8181:247
36Cha203,9731:251
37U197,9371:259
38Na189,6711:270
39Chin187,5741:273
40Min178,9951:286
41Chi164,5871:311
42Pyon162,8131:315
43Om147,0801:348
44Won137,7951:372
45Pang134,6801:380
46Chae130,8951:391
47Kong96,6251:530
48Hyon90,7641:565
49Ham85,4031:600
50Yo82,2901:623
51Yom71,2401:719
52Sok61,0991:839
53Lee59,9181:855
54To59,5311:861
55Sol45,3301:1,130
56Ma39,5861:1,294
57Yon36,5221:1,403
58Kil35,5671:1,441
59Park33,2501:1,541
60Wi33,0271:1,551
61Pyo31,7861:1,612
62Ki30,0191:1,707
63Pan29,4771:1,738
64Myong28,8611:1,775
65Wang26,5211:1,932
66Ok26,4941:1,934
67Kum25,2891:2,026
68In23,7051:2,162
69Maeng23,3511:2,194
70Yuk23,1251:2,216
71Che22,2911:2,299
72Mo22,0181:2,327
73Tak21,3661:2,398
74Namgung20,8941:2,452
75Kuk20,5411:2,495
76Choi18,7951:2,726
77Kyong17,6601:2,901
78Un17,1571:2,987
79Yong16,5261:3,101
80Ye14,1801:3,614
81Pong13,3131:3,849
82Sa11,7221:4,371
83Pu10,6471:4,813
84Ka10,1321:5,057
85Mok9,9801:5,134
86Tae9,8511:5,202
87Hwangbo9,8161:5,220
88Jung9,5781:5,350
89Misang9,5621:5,359
90Pok9,3371:5,488
91Shin9,0121:5,686
92Kye7,2201:7,097
93Hyong7,1581:7,158
94Pi7,1011:7,216
95Kam6,7761:7,562
96Um6,7271:7,617
97Tu6,5611:7,810
98Oh6,4391:7,958
99Yoon6,4041:8,001
100Tong6,3041:8,128
101Pin5,7401:8,927
102Jang5,6791:9,023
103Lim5,5751:9,191
104Jeong5,5391:9,251
105On5,5291:9,268
106Sung5,4451:9,411
107Chegal4,8341:10,600
108Seo4,5981:11,144
109Ahn4,5231:11,329
110Si4,4721:11,458
111Sagong4,4691:11,466
112Chung4,3201:11,861
113Yoo4,1791:12,261
114Sonu3,9631:12,930
115Kal3,5671:14,365
116Chwa3,5131:14,586
117Moon3,4851:14,703
118Pom3,4601:14,809
119Jeon3,4201:14,983
120Paeng3,2211:15,908
121Kan2,8601:17,916
122Sang2,6221:19,542
123Ryu2,3801:21,530
124Tan2,0201:25,366
125Somun2,0101:25,493
126Kyon1,9621:26,116
127Sun1,8311:27,985
128Jin1,8171:28,200
129Shim1,8061:28,372
130Baek1,7641:29,048
131Jo1,7401:29,448
132Woo1,7041:30,071
133Yi1,4561:35,192
134Suh1,4541:35,241
135Chun1,3521:37,900
136Kita1,3301:38,527
137Tang1,2481:41,058
138Koo1,2351:41,490
139Noh1,1851:43,241
140Ong1,0881:47,096
141Hwa1,0641:48,158
142Li1,0401:49,269
143Joo9951:51,498
144Sohn9481:54,051
145Ji9431:54,337
146Tokko9401:54,511
147Jun9251:55,395
148Byun8981:57,060
149Bang8431:60,783
150You8411:60,928
151Roh7971:64,291
152Koh7871:65,108
153Young7731:66,288
154Ping7391:69,337
155Pung7121:71,967
156A7071:72,476
157Rhee6891:74,369
158Pyong6831:75,022
159Hyun6651:77,053
160Kung6371:80,440
161Youn6301:81,334
162Hur6251:81,984
163Chom5551:92,325
163Nae5551:92,325
165Yim5361:95,597
166Hung5251:97,600
166Yeo5251:97,600
168Sop4921:104,147
169Eom4281:119,720
170Baik4031:127,147
171Nang3951:129,722
172Cheon3771:135,916
173Ju3761:136,277
174Do3651:140,384
174Hae3651:140,384
176Paik3421:149,825
176Su3421:149,825
178Choo3221:159,131
179Kun3141:163,186
180Dong3131:163,707
181Cheong3061:167,452
182Nguyen3051:168,001
183Seong2991:171,372
184Jong2961:173,109
185Kwok2931:174,881
186Pil2821:181,703
187Man2651:193,359
188Yeom2641:194,092
189Tongbang2611:196,323
190Mae2501:204,961
191Khan2331:219,915
192Jee2301:222,784
192Seok2301:222,784
194Mi2271:225,728
195Hahn2221:230,812
196Seol2111:242,845
196Ya2111:242,845
198Kumar2061:248,739
199Zhang2051:249,952
200Soo2011:254,927