Shin (Korean surname)

Shin
Hangul	신
Hanja	申,辛,愼
Revised Romanization	Sin
McCune–Reischauer	Sin

Sin is one of the few family names of the Korean people in Korea.

Clans

As with other Korean family names, the holders of the "Sin" family name are divided into various clans, each known by the name of a town or city, called bon-gwan in Korean. Usually that town or city is the one where the clan's founder lived.

Shrine of Shin Sung-gyeom in northern Daegu.

One line of Sin is the Pyeongsan Sin, which makes up about 70% of all the populations with the name Sin using the Chinese character 申. The clan's founder was general Shin Sung-gyeom, originally named Samneungsan without a family name, before being given a surname.

According to the family legend, one day when Taejo of Goryeo and his generals went out hunting in the land Pyeongsan, Taejo saw three geese flying above them, and asked his generals whether any of them can shoot the geese down. The general who volunteered was Shin Sung-gyeom, and asked Taejo which one he should shoot. Taejo asked Shin to shoot the third goose by the left wing, and to Taejo's surprise, Shin completed the task. Taejo was highly impressed and granted Shin with 300 gyul (ancient measurement of area) of local land, which became Shin Sung-gyeom's hometown.

Shin Sung-gyeom also saved the life of Taejo of Goryeo in a disastrous battle with Hubaekje near present-day Daegu in the early 10th century. Taejo awarded General Shin the clan name Pyeongsang Sin, after his hometown, for his loyalty and bravery he showed in the battle. Other prominent members of this clan in more recent times include the 19th-century pansori writer Sin Jae-hyo.

Each year a number of people, who claim their belonging to the Pyeongsan Shin clan, gather at the memorial shrine of Shin Sung-gyeom in the South-Korean province of Kangwondo. Prior to the Korean war, the original shrine was situated in the now North-Korean province of Hwanghaedo, where the clan land of Pyeongsan is situated.

Some genuine branches of the Pyeongsan Shin clan are known to have emigrated outside Korea, most notably to Europe. One of the first branches to have emigrated to Europe is currently present in the Kingdom of Belgium since 1974, where the family name has been frenchified to Shin de Pyeongsan.

Another well-known line is the Goryeong Sin, descended from Sin Suk-ju, who was one of the main scholars to work with King Sejong (세종대왕) in the making of Hangul. The Goryeong Shin makes up about 17% of all the populations with the name Shin using the Chinese character 申. Although the two clans, Pyeongsan Shin and Koryeong Shin, share the same Chinese character, they are unrelated in heritage. Another prominent member of the clan is Danjae Sin Chaeho, a 19th-century nationalist historian.

List of Shins

Historical

• Shin Sung-gyeom (d. 927), general of the Later Three Kingdoms period.
• Sin Don, Buddhist monk and regent of the reign of King Gongmin of Goryeo.
• Sin Suk-ju, Scholar.
• Sin Sa-im-dang, Painter, Calligrapher, Yi Yul-gok's mother
• Sin Jae-hee, Scholar, Writer
• Sin Jae-hyo, Pansori writer
• Sin Chaeho, Historian.
• Shin Ik-hee, Politician (1st and 2nd National Assembly Chairman of Republic of Korea, opposition party leader, presidential candidate)

Contemporary

• Shin Ae Ra, actor
• Shin Donghee, member of Super Junior
• Shin Hye Sung, singer
• Shin Hae Chul, singer
• Jae Chul Shin, martial artist
• Shin Jung-hyeon, rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
• Shin Min Ah, actor
• Nelson Shin, founder and president of Akom Production Co., Ltd
• Paul Shin, member of the Washington State Senate
• Shin Tae-Yu (1865-1941), minister
• Sin Chaeho, historian
• Sin Gwang-su (poet)
• Sin Saimdang, female painter of the mid-Joseon period.
• Sin Yun-bok, painter also known as "Hyewon."t

See also

• Korean name
• Korean language
• List of Korean family names
• List of Korea-related topics