The President of South Korea and the Chairman of Samsung Are Cousins?

Before we get into the President of Korea and Chairman of Samsung, have you ever noticed that many Koreans’ names sound similar?

That’s not just because Korea has a few common family names like Kim, Lee, or Park, it’s also because in many families, siblings or cousins share one of the two syllables in their names. (Korean names are typically three syllables, including the surname.)

That shared syllable is called 돌림자(dollimja) or 항렬자(hangnyeolja).

In the video above, you’ll see a great example.

Super Junior’s Shin Dong’s real name is 신동희(Shin Donghee), and the other singer Shin Yu’s original name is 신동룡(Shin Dongryong).

Their 돌림자 is 동 in the first syllable of their names. (돌림자 can also be the second syllable.) This shows they are related, although they didn’t know it. And it is very likely that their brothers and cousins in the same family line would be named 신동O.

This 돌림자 comes from a broader system called 항렬(hangnyeol), which is basically the family generation order.

Traditional Korean clans, especially those that kept written genealogies called 족보(jokbo), created a pre-determined sequence of syllables, one for each generation.

When a baby was born, the parents would check which syllable belonged to that generation and include it in the child’s name.

This system served practical and cultural purposes.

It helped clarify the family structure. When families were huge, and when family clans formed a village and lived closely together, you could tell who was your cousin, nephew, uncle, etc. just by their name.

For example, my generation’s shared syllable is 재(Jae) in the first position. My brother and cousins all have names that start with 재, while my father’s generation has their own, 수 in the second position, and grandfather’s line another one still.

When my cousin got married, I was in charge of the guestbook. Even if I didn’t know a guest personally, the moment I saw a name written with my father’s shared syllable, I immediately knew he must be a distant cousin of my father, and uncle to me.

Also, it reflected Confucian values. In the past, preserving family order and respecting elders was a moral duty. Sharing syllables showed unity and lineage.

Modern Koreans don’t strictly follow the tradition anymore. It is getting loose by every generation.

As families got smaller and individuality became more valued, many parents started choosing names for their sound, meaning, etc., not for family tradition.

Still, some families, especially those that keep 족보(jokbo) records, continue it.

So yes, South Korea’s President Lee Jaemyung and Samsung Chairman Lee Jaeyong are related.

They both belong to the 경주 이씨 (Gyeongju Lee clan) and are recorded as 41st generation descendants in the clan’s lineage.

That means, at least according to 항렬, they are distant cousins, though the clan is enormous, so they’re not exactly close family.

(President Lee Jaemyung’s older brother is Lee Jaesun. There are other entrepreneurs who are cousins to Chariman Lee Jaeyong, such as CJ Chariman Lee Jaehyun.)

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