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"Gold or metal"
Kim is shared by many distinct bon-gwan (ancestral-seat groups). The 2015 census lists Gimhae and Gyeongju among the largest, alongside many other Kim bon-gwan.
Clan origin stories differ by bon-gwan and often combine genealogy, historical records, and founding legends. A surname alone is not enough to identify a person’s clan or ancestry.
10,689,959 people, 21.51% of the 49,705,663 residents counted in the 2015 census.
* Based on Statistics Korea's 2015 census surname table; this is not a current population estimate.
Open the official census sourceSource reviewed 2026-08-18
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