The South Korean census in the year 2000 found that there were 644,294 Hwangs with over 68 Bon-gwan family clans, making it the 16th most common last name in the country.
Also, it is estimated that there are over 29,410,000 individuals whose last names are the variations of Huang, including the Korean Hwang and the Vietnamese Hoang around the world.
Therefore, individuals with Korean descent may be completely unrelated even if their last names are identical, depending on their family clan, or bon-gwan.
Hwang Rak is recorded in AD 28 as having become lost at sea during a voyage from China to Vietnam, and instead having arrived in Korea during the Silla dynasty.
Before his death, Hwang-Rak had three sons named Gab-Go (갑고,甲古), Eul-Go (을고,乙古), and Byung-Go (병고,丙古), from eldest to youngest.