Different family names sharing the same bongwan sometimes trace their origin to a common paternal ancestor, e.g. the Gimhae Kim [ko] clan and the Gimhae Heo [ko] clan share Suro of Geumgwan Gaya as their common paternal ancestor, though such cases are exceptional.
According to the population and housing census of 2000 conducted by Statistics Korea, there are a total of 286 surnames and 4,179 clans.
[3] The 2015 census reported that a total of 36,744 family clans exist among the 1,507 surnames extant in South Korea.
Almost all Koreans, including the Yangmin and Cheonmin caste, identified with a bongwan from the early Goryeo to the Joseon period.
[1] Traditionally, a man and a woman in the same clan could not marry, so the combination of the bongwan and the family name of a husband had to differ from that of a wife.