Two Major Contenders: Kim vs. Kim

Two out of three major party candidates in this year’s South Korean presidential election are named Kim.

That is one fewer than the election five years ago, when three Kims ran for president--against one named Roh. Roh won.

One in every four South Koreans is named Kim, which means gold, according to the country’s Economic Planning Board. The second most common name is Lee, meaning plum.

Most Korean names are written in Chinese characters and have multiple places of origin. Kim has 285 origins, while Lee has 241.

Because of the diverse family origins, a Kim can marry another Kim as long as their roots are different. But a Kang may not marry another Kang, even if they are unrelated because supposedly there is only one place of origin for this surname--which nearly 1 million South Koreans share.