Korea Collection of Genealogies - FamilySearch Historical Records

North Korea South Korea

What is in the Collection?
This collection will include records from 1200 to 2014.

These records include family biographies, genealogies, and histories. The text is in Korean and Chinese. For translation tools, see the section titled For Help Reading These Records.

Ancestors are based on the male family line. Children are raised to believe they can never repay their debt to their parents, hence the popularity of ancestor worship and the importance of genealogy records. They hold ancestral ceremonies for the previous three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents) several times a year, particularly on Chusok and New Year's Day.

Genealogies and family histories are created because of the great cultural importance of family and lineage. Children are taught that the actions of one family member reflect on the rest of the family. Marriage also is thought of as a union of two families and a means to ensure the continuity of the husband's family line.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Genealogy records may contain the following information:


 * Family name
 * Town or village
 * Province
 * City or county
 * Country
 * Year

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Place of birth
 * Province

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 “Family Name" ⇒Select “Country" ⇒Select “Province” ⇒Select “City or County” ⇒Select “Town or Village” ⇒Select “Title, Year, Volume/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 ancestor's given name and surname, 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 ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Korean. For help reading these records, see the following resource:


 * South Korean Language and Languages
 * Korean names
 * Korean Genealogy guide

What Do I Do Next?

 * Use the location to search for others records in that area.
 * Use the age to approximate a birth date.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.

Citing 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: