Korean Genealogy Records Translation and Research
Are you a Korean residing abroad doing research into your family history? Is your significant other or in-law a Korean searching for genealogy related information? Korean genealogical records are among the best kept in the world. However, the records often contain Hanja (the Chinese characters used in Korean), old handwritten Korean text, and sometimes even Japanese (especially for records covering the period of the Japanese occupation of Korea a.k.a. 일제강점기). Simply put, the records exist but making proper sense of them is another thing. Access to information is growing every day but there is still a serious lack of English information and resources when it comes to Korean genealogy. We aim to bridge this gap.
If you or someone close to you is searching for information about their Korean lineage, there are a few types of documents that will contain the most critical information.
호적등본, 제적등본 or 제적등본(초본) = Hojeok Deungbon or Jejeok Deungbon (Certified Copy of Family Census Register)
This contains information about the head of the household, children, and details of birth, marriage, and death. This document also contains the name of parents of individuals contained in the record. Depending on the year of issuance it may contain some Korean characters. Older documents will likely be full of Hanja characters, and have very few Korean characters. The family register was most widely used until 2008, up until the introduction of the 가족관계증명서 = Gajok Gwangye Jeungmyeongseo (Family Relation Certificate).
족보 = jokbo or chokbo (Family Genealogy Book)
This record is kept and maintained within individual families, generally being passed down from father to eldest son. In many cases such records are handwritten, and in hard copy. There are actually several types of jokbo books that include different parts of one’s Korean lineage. These include: 세보 (sebo), 파보 (pabo), 대동보 (daedongbo), 가승보 (gaseungbo), 계보 (gyaebo), 가보 (gabo), and 만성보 (manseongbo).
기본증명서 = gibonjeungmyeongseo (Basic Certificate)
Sometimes this document is erroneously referred to as “Birth Certificate.” While a Korean Basic Certificate does contain information about one’s birth, the immigration departments in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. only accept “Basic Certificate” as the correct translation. This document also contains information about death, name changes or corrections, loss of citizenship, and family origin, so it can involve a whole lot more than only birth information.
We’ve translated more than 450 different family genealogies to date, and have long-term experience with all these types of documents. Our team is able to read all the possible characters you will come across when doing Korean family history work. If you are struggling to make sense of the family records in your possession, feel free to contact us.