Pak Family History

Korean: written 박 in Chinese characters 朴 meaning ‘simple’. This is the only Chinese character for the surname Pak which is the third most common surname in Korea and is found in every part of the peninsula. The Pak clans claim no founding ancestors from foreign lands - all are native to Korea. Although some sources indicate that there are 270 Pak clans, only 44 of these can be documented and much of their early history is shrouded in myth and legend.

All Pak clans spring from a single semi-mythological ancestor named Pak Hyŏkkŏse (朴 赫; 居世). Before the establishment of the Shilla kingdom, the southern tip of the peninsula is said to have been ruled by six elders, leaders of the six tribes who inhabited that part of the country. In AD 69, a leader, Pak Hyŏkkŏse, arrived at the foot of a mountain in Kyŏngju in Kyŏngsang north province.

Legend has it that he was inside a golden gourd-shaped egg. When the egg was opened, Pak Hyŏkkŏse emerged and after taking a wife (who was borne on the back of a dragon), he established the new Shilla kingdom. The word pak in Korean (박; 朴) can mean either ‘gourd’ or ‘to shine brightly’ and the surname Pak is said to denote either the gourd-shaped egg in which the youth was found or the light that is said to have radiated from his head.

Compare Bak 6 and Park. Chinese: Cantonese form of the surnames 白 and 柏 see Bai 1 and Dutch: metonymic occupational name for a wholesale trader from pak ‘package’. Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Pack ‘package’. Slovenian: unexplained. Compare Pack.