The
story of Gimhae Kim's clan
(source:
en.wikipedia.org)
***
The story of Gimhae
Kim's clan was narrated in Samguk Yusa, a Korean chronicle written by a monk,
Iryon (1206 AD-1289 AD).
It is set in the Kaya kingdom in the first century CE. It says that the
area (which is Gimhae Area
now), in the south central Korean peninsula, was first ruled by nine elders
(tribe chiefs),
but there was no king.
According to Samguk Yusa,
the Gimhae Kim family founder, Kim Suro, came in
answer to a prayer offered by the nine elders of the ancient Gaya
area, which is Gimhae region
now. In 42 ad, these
elders met together to pray for a king. In answer to their prayer,
one day a voice spoke from heaven at a place called
Kujibong (means 'the hill shaped like turtle' in Korean). A few hundred
people gathered there, along with nine elders. The voice instructed them to
go to the top of the mountain, dig up the land, dance and sing a song (now
known as Kujisong). They did as instructed and a plum-colored cord descended
from heaven.
They found a golden chest at the end of the
cord and when they opened it, they discovered six golden
eggs. The elders brought the chest
home and the next day the
eggs had transformed into six baby
boys.
The boy who came out first named Kim, Suro
(Suro means came out first and Last name Kim means Gold or Golden in
Korean and Chinese) - who is the progenitor of Gimhae Kim's clan.
Suro Kim, the king of
Geumgwan Gaya kingdom was the founder of Gaya confederacy.
The other five eggs became the five kings of Garak¡¯s neighboring
kingdom,
Gaya
confederacy.
*Born from eggs from heaven
symbolizes spiritual life. It may be related to Christian baptism and
Buddhist enlightenment. That's why they became king as soon as born, and
King Suro married 6 years later.
King Suro
married to princess Huh Hwang Ok from Ayuta (Ayodhia) in 48 CE and the queen
was greatly loved by all her subjects. She is said to have lived to the
grand old age of 156. The couple had 10 sons and two daughters. Two of the
sons (2nd and 3rd son) were named Huh after their mother's family name and
the rest were called Kim, after King Kim Suro.
In the year 532 A.D., the last king of Kaya, King Koo Hyung, acquiesced his
land to the kingdom of Shilla in order to prevent major warfare and further
bloodshed for his people. They were allowed to remain in one of six Kayan
regions, called Karagguk, and his sons, Sae Jong; Mu Deuk; and Mu Ryuk, were
given positions within the royal court of Shilla.
General Kim Yoo Shin was the grandson of the last king of Kaya, King Koo
Hyung. His father was MuRyuk, the father-in-law to the king of Shilla, King
TaeJong Muyul. MuRyuk was also a famous general in the kingdom of Shilla.
General Kim Yoo Shin and King Muyul later unified all three countries within
the Korean peninsula, Shilla; Goguryo; and Baekjae, creating Tong-il
("unified") Shilla. The Kim Hae Kim clan thrived and regained power
following General Kim Yoo Shin. There are now 148 different families within
the Gimhae Kim clan.
More than six million present day Koreans, especially from Gimhae Kim, Heo
and Lee (Yi) clans, trace their lineage to the legendary King and Queen as
the direct descendants of their 12 children. These 3 clans associate their
Bon-gwan (geo-biological lineage roots) to Gimhae, in the South Gyeongsang
Province of South Korea, and these clans place restrictions on marriage with
each other due to the shared ancestors. Today, the Gimhae Kim clan is the
largest clan group among them. The Gimhae Heo clans, descend
from the two sons of King Suro who used their mother's Queen Heo Hwang-ok's
surname, instead of their father's. ¡¡
(source:
en.wikipedia.org)
¡¡
The origin of
the gimhae kim clan
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