The land of Kims: South Korea’s clan villages cling to the power of surnames that are all too common

Many of his students are Kims. So are his fellow teachers, an elementary school alumnus and the owners of restaurants and pubs that he patronises in his small farming village. Lots of Kims in his neighborhood, too.

Such is everyday life for Kim Sun Won, who, obviously, is a Kim too.

He's lived all his 70 years in a tile-roofed home in a so-called “clan village” of Yeonsan, surrounded by people who share his connection to an illustrious ancestor from centuries ago. Other clan villages in South Korea are dominated by Hwangs, Yuns and many other names.

“This is the house where my father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather lived,” Kim said, walking down a small hill dotted with his ancestors‘ tombs and gravestones. “I've never wanted to abandon my hometown.”

But modernisation is turning clan villages into a fading tradition. Dozens with at least 100 clan members remain in South Korea, but there were once hundreds. The others have been lost to the frenzy of construction across much of the country, and to young people leaving small-town life for bigger opportunities in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

For Kim Sun Won, however, ancient family ties remain as tangible as the large earthen tombs behind his house.