Park (Korean name)

Park or Pak is a common Korean family name, whose origin goes back to King Park Hyeokgeose, the founder of the Silla dynasty in 57 BCE. When written with a Chinese character (Hanja), it uses a character that means "sincere," "simple" and "unadorned." When the case is based on the surname, it means plain. It is usually transliterated as either Pak (as in Pak Se Ri, a golfer) or Park (as in Park Chung Hee, former president of Korea, Park Chan Ho, a Major League Baseball pitcher, and Park Ji-Sung, a Manchester United player). Nine percent of the Korean population share this surname.

History
According to the legend, Park Hyeokgeose was the founder of this Korean surname. He was said to be hatched from an egg and when the egg shell cracked, there were rays of light that came from it. Since the Korean verb for "to shine" or "to be bright" is spelled B-A-R-G in hangeul characters, his last name became Bak. When he turned thirteen, he became the founding king of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla in 57 BCE.

Clans
As with most other Korean family names, there are many Park clans, each of which consists of individual Park families. According to the last census in 2000, there are 161 Park clans in South Korea consisting in total of 1,215,918 households made up of 3,895,121 individuals.

Even within each clan, people in different families are not related to each other. These distinctions are important, since Korean law used to prohibit intermarriage in the same clan, no matter how remote the relationship; now, however, only those in a relationship of second cousins or closer may not marry.

As with other Korean family names, the Park clans are distinguished by bon-gwan, the place from which they claim to originate. Of these clans, the Miryang (Milseong) clan is the largest at 3,031,478 people (about 77% of all Parks). Other notable clans include the Goryeong clan which produced South Korean leader Park Chung Hee.

List of people with the name "Park" or "Pak"

 * Angela Park (born 1988), Brazilian golfer of Korean descent
 * Inbee Park (born 1988), South Korean golfer
 * Bo Hi Pak (born 1930), Unification Church leader
 * Park Chae-rim (born 1979), South Korean actress
 * Chan-ho Park (born 1973), South Korean baseball player
 * Park Chan-wook (born 1963), South Korean film director
 * Pak Chang-sik (born c. 1958), North Korean politician
 * Park Chung-hee (1917-1979), South Korean president, 1961-1979
 * Park Chu-Young (born 1985), South Korean footballer
 * Park Eun-hye (born 1978), a South Korean actress
 * Park Geun-hye (born 1952), South Korean politician
 * Park Gok-ji (born 1965), South Korean film editor
 * Grace Park (born 1974), Canadian-American actress of Korean descent (Battlestar Galactica)
 * Grace Park (born 1979), Korean-born American golfer
 * Greg Pak, Korean-American comic book writer and film director
 * Park Han-byul (born 1984), South Korean actress
 * Park Heung-sik (born 1962), South Korean film director & screenwriter
 * Ho Sung Pak (born 1967), Korean-born American stuntman & actor
 * Park In Won (born 1936), South Korean businessman & politician
 * Park Ji-Sung (born 1981), South Korean footballer
 * Park Ji-yoon (born 1982), South Korean singer & model
 * Park Joo-Bong (born 1964), South Korean badminton player
 * Park Jung Ah (born 1981), a South Korean singer
 * Park Jung Min (born 1987), a South Korean singer of SS501
 * Park Jung Su (born 1983), a South Korean singer
 * Pak Kil-yon (born 1943), North Korean diplomat
 * Park Kwang-su (born 1955), South Korean film director
 * Pak Kyong-sam, North Korean politician
 * Park Kyu-Seon (born 1981), South Korean footballer
 * Park Kyung-mo (born 1975), South Korean archer
 * Lena Park (born 1976), Korean-American singer
 * Linda Park (born 1978), Korean-born American actress (Star Trek: Enterprise)
 * Mike Park, Korean-American musician
 * Park Min-Young (born 1987), South Korean actress
 * Park Mok-wol (1916-1978), South Korean writer
 * Pak Pong-ju (born 1939), North Korean politician
 * Richard Park (born 1976), Korean-born American ice hockey player
 * Romi Park (born 1972), Zainichi Korean voice actress
 * Park Sang-min (born 1970), South Korean actor
 * Se Ri Pak (born 1977), South Korean golfer
 * Park Shi Yeon (born 1979), South Korean actress, 2000 Miss Korea 2nd runner up
 * Park Shin-yang (born 1968), South Korean actor
 * Park Sol-mi (born 1978), South Korean actress
 * Park Soo-Jin, a South Korean actress
 * Park Hee-myung (born 1973), South Korean martial artist
 * Park Sung-hyun (born 1983), South Korean archer
 * Park Tae Hwan (born 1989), South Korean swimmer
 * Park Tae-sang (born 1979), South Korean badminton player
 * Pak Tong-chun (born 1942), North Korean diplomat
 * Pak Tu-jin (1916-1998), South Korean poet
 * Pak Ui-chun, current Foreign Affairs Minister of North Korea
 * Park Ye-Eun, Lead Vocalist of South Korean band-Wonder Girls
 * Park Yong-ha (born 1977), South Korean actor & singer
 * Park Yong-Ho (born 1981), South Korean footballer
 * Park Soo Ae (born 1980), a South Korean actress
 * Park Ye-Jin (born 1981), a South Korean actress
 * Ivy (singer) (born 1982), South Korean singer
 * Sandara Park (born 1984), former South Korean actress in the Philippines
 * Park Yoochun (born 1986), member of popular South Korean band TVXQ
 * Ivan Pak, Nukezone pioneer
 * James Park, (born 1988), a freelance Animator from the UK