Yun (Korean surname)


Yoon is a common family name in Korea, which means, “governor”. The name is sometimes also transliterated as Yun, Yune, Yiun, or Youn.
The Chinese character 尹 is also used for the surname Yǐn in China and Doãn in Vietnam. The Korean surname Yun or Youn has no relations with the Doãn surname of Vietnam or Yin of China.
According to the 2000 census, 948,600 people had the surname in South Korea.

Clans and history

Papyeong clan

The Papyeong Yun clan, which has its seat in Papyeong-myeon, Paju City, is the most well-known and largest Yun clan. The 2000 South Korean census found 221,433 households claiming membership in the Papyeong clan, with a total population of 713,947.
The clan's founding ancestor is General Yun Sin-dal, who assisted Wanggeon in founding the Goryeo Dynasty.
Yoon Gwan was a renowned general in the Goryeo Dynasty. He helped form the Byeolmuban forces to fight and defeat the Jurchen tribes in 1107.
In 2002 a mummified woman with an unborn fetus was discovered in the tomb of Yun Jeong-jeong, a member of the Papyeong Yun clan. It is believed she was the granddaughter of Yun Won-hyung, the brother of Queen Munjeong.
Several Papyeong Yun women became queens during the early Joseon Dynasty, they include Queen Munjeong and Queen Janggyeong.

Haepyeong clan

Last ruling Empress, Empress Sunjeong of the Korean Empire, was from another Yun clan, Haepyeong Yun. The first Haepyeong Yun was a person named Yun Jonbu from the Goryeo Danasty. According to the 2000 census, 26,000 people belong to this clan.
Yun Bo-seon the second president of South Korea is a distant relative of Empress Sunjeong of the Korean Empire.

Family feud

When the tomb of Yoon Gwan was rediscovered in the 18th century, it sparked a 300-year-old family feud between the Yun and Sim Clan. The reason for the feud was because a member of the Sim clan was buried uphill from Yoon Gwan's tomb, destroying part of the original tomb in the process. The feud was finally settled in 2008.

People