Korea, Local History - FamilySearch Historical Records

South Korea

What is in the Collection?
A collection of local histories/town records from Korea. The records are written in the Korean language using Chinese hanja characters. This collection will be published as images become available.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Town Records may contain the following information:
 * Family Name
 * Province
 * City
 * Town/village
 * Year of record

How Do I Search the Collection?
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select "Country (국가), Province (도, 시), City or County (시,군)" ⇒Select "제명 (Title), 년 (Year), and 권 (Volume) and/or 페이지 (Page)" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your relative's first name or some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your relative and that your relative may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Korean, written using Chinese hanja characters. For help reading the records, see the following resources: General Information: Reading Hangul: (Korean letters) Reading Hanja: (Chinese characters)
 * South Korean Language and Languages
 * Korean Genealogy Guide online
 * Korean names
 * HanGul Letters
 * HanGul Syllables
 * FamilySearch Video Tutorials (for Korean speakers
 * Background on HanJa Characters
 * Translating Hanja and Hangul

What Do I Do Next?
Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know to determine if the image relates. You may need to look at several images and compare the information. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * The person you are searching for may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
When you have located the correct record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Add this new information to your records.

Citations for This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation: Image Citation: