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Bon-gwan is the concept of clan in Korea,
which is used to distinguish clans that happen to share a same family name
(clan name).
The bongwan system identifies descent groups
by geographic place of origin. A Korean clan is a group of people that share
the same paternal ancestor and is indicated by the combination of a bon-gwan
and a family name (clan name). However, a bon-gwan isn't treated as a part
of a Korean person's name.
The bon-gwan and the family name are passed on
from a father to his children, thus ensuring that persons in the same
paternal lineage share the same combination of the bon-gwan and the family
name. A bon-gwan does not change by marriage or adoption.
Bon-gwan are used to distinguish different
lineages that bear the same family name. For example, the Gyeongju Kim and
the Gimhae Kim are considered different clans, even though they happen to
share the same family name Kim. In this case, Gyeongju and Gimhae are the
respective bon-gwan of these clans.
Different family names sharing the same
bon-gwan sometimes trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor, e.g.
the Gimhae Kim clan and the Gimhae Heo clan share Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as
their common paternal ancestor, though such case is exceptional.
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