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Korea, the surname Kim
is very common with over 20% of the population having this name. Of the several
Kim clans, the Gimhae Kim clan is by far the biggest and the biggest amongst all
clans in Korea with more than 4 million members.
What is surprising though is that this clan can trace its origins back to an
Indian Princess.
The Kim clan
The Gimhae Kim clan is named after Kim Suro, the King of Geumgwan Gaya. Geumgwan
Gaya was a Korean city state founded around the 1st century AD by Kim Suro and
became the ruling capital of the Gaya Confederacy, a prominent kingdom during
the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Kim Suro himself had a very interesting
backstory including supposedly being born from an egg, but we will save this
interesting story for another day.
Princess Heo Hwang Ok
According to legend, a young princess named Suriratna arrived in Gaya from a far
away land called ‘Ayoda’. Modern historians have speculated the Ayoda mentioned
is Ayodhya, an ancient Indian kingdom.
The story goes that the King of Geumgwan Gaya, Kim Suro had been looking for a
wife. He had refused to select a bride amongst the local maidens and instead
waited for a wife to be selected to him by the heavens. This patience was
rewarded by the auspicious arrival of a vessel with red sails and red flag,
carrying the young sixteen year old Princess Suriratna. The Princess had been on
a two month journey by boat to Gaya after her parents had sent her east after
dreaming of Suro in a dream.
The princess married Kim Suro and was given the name Heo Hwang Ok. She became
the first queen of Geumgwan Gaya. King Kim and Queen Heo went on to have twelve
children and their descendants ruled Gaya until its demise in 532 AD. After
Gaya’s demise their descendants became part of the nobility of Silla, a
neighbouring Kingdom which eventually unified Korea.
Famous descendants
While Gaya eventually disappeared, the descendants of Queen Heo prospered. Ten
of her children took the name Kim and became the Gimhae Kim clan. Kim Yushin,
one of the most famous generals in Korean history was a direct descendant. He
was the general made famous by leading the forces of Silla to end the long
Korean Three Kingdoms period and unify Korea in 668.
Famous descendants include Kim Yusin, the general that helped unify Korea, Kim
Dae Jung a democracy activist and president of South Korea and even Yesung of
Super Junior and Xiumin of EXO. The Gimhae Kim clan also constitute over 20% of
Korea’s total population with over 4 million members.
Two of her children took on the surname of Heo, and descendants of this clan
include prominent historical figures, businessmen such as a founder of LG
Corporation, sportspeople and Kpop stars
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