Why do all Koreans share the same surname of "Kim" ???

Question

i'm not kidding! somebody tell me why!!!

Answer 1

To answer that, you'll have to ask the Smiths' and the Joneses'...

Answer 2

I got a chuckle out of that.  While Kim is a common Korean name, much like Smith, Jones, Patel and others common to certain cultures, Koreans have many different names. Chung comes to mind as does Kwan (more common in China).

Answer 3

The Kim clans are some of the oldest and most prestigious clans in Korea; some were royals. Common Koreans did not have surnames until the arrival of the Japanese who required them to adopt last names. Most commoners simply adopted the last names of their aristocratic overlords rather than coming up with their own. Since the Kim clans were so prominent, more people adopted their name. The last name Lee is also common in Korea for the same reason.

Answer 4

Kim isn't the only surname.

Answer 5

It's a mystery but even Koreans see the humor in it. In my first "Welcome to Korea" briefing years ago Mr. Kim mentioned that if you toss a rock into a crowd there you will hit a Kim practically every time. And if you meet anyone with a two syllable surname you should probably play the lottery.

Answer 6

Not all Koreans share the surname of Kim.

There are tons more.

For instance, Jeong, Huh, Min, Park, Lee, etc.