Shin (Korean surname)

Shin, also spelled Sin,[1] or Sheen, is a Korean surname, a single-syllable Korean given name, and an element in two-syllable Korean given names.[2] As given name meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it. There are 34 hanja with the reading "shin"[3] on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be registered for use in given names.

Shin
Pronunciation/ʃin/
Origin
Word/nameKorean
MeaningDifferent depending on Hanja
Other names
Alternative spellingSheen, Sin
Shin
Hangul
신
Hanja
申, 辛,愼, 信 and others
Revised RomanizationSin
McCune–ReischauerShin
IPA[ɕin]


As a Surname

There are three Chinese characters that can be read as Sin. Between these three characters, there are seven different Korean clans, each of which descends from a different ancestral founder. Two of the six, the Yeongsan Sin clan and the Geochang Shin clan, both trace their origins back to China. Members of the various Sin clans can be found throughout the Korean peninsula.

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. The six Sin branches are as follows:

Although the first four clans — Pyeongsan, Goryeong, Aju, and Saknyeong — share the same Chinese character (申), they are unrelated in heritage.

Shrine of Shin Sung-gyeom in northern Daegu.

The Pyeongsan Sin clan lineage makes up about 70% of all those with the surname Sin using the Chinese character 申. The clan's founder was General Sin Sung-gyeom. This clan associated with a mountain in North Korea called "Pyeongsan" (平山, literally "mountain of peace"). The mountain was originally named Samneungsan (三能山, literally "mountain of three talents"), without a family name, before being linked to the Sin surname by King Taejo of Goryeo.

According to the Pyeongsan Sin family legend, one day when King Taejo and his generals went out hunting near Pyeongsan, Taejo saw three geese flying above, and asked his generals whether any of them could shoot the geese down. Sin Sung-gyeom volunteered and asked Taejo which one he should shoot. Taejo asked Shin to shoot the third goose in its left wing and, to Taejo's surprise, Sin successfully felled the goose. Highly impressed, Taejo gifted Sin with 300 gyeol (결; 結, an ancient measurement of area) of local land, which became Sin's hometown.

Sin Sung-gyeom also saved the life of King Taejo of Goryeo during a disastrous battle with Hubaekje near present-day Daegu in the early 10th century. Taejo awarded General Sin the clan name Pyeongsan Sin, after his hometown, for the loyalty and bravery he showed in the battle. Other prominent members of this clan include the 16th-century artist, writer, and poet Shin Saimdang and the 19th-century pansori writer Shin Jae-hyo.

Every year, a number of descendants of the Pyeongsan Sin clan gather at the memorial shrine of Sin Sung-gyeom in the South Korean province of Gangwon Province. Prior to the Korean war, the original shrine was situated in the now North-Korean province of Hwanghae Province, to which the clan land of Pyeongsan traces its roots.

Another well-known family line that also uses the Chinese character 申 is the Goryeong Sin clan, descended from Shin Suk-ju, the lead scholar working with King Sejong the Great in the development of Hangul, the Korean written language. Shin Suk-ju was also a high ranking government minister and belonged to the Hall of Worthies. The Goryeong Sin lineage makes up about 17% of all those with the surname (申). Three of five members of Shin Suk-ju's 16th generation are known to have immigrated to the United States in the 1970s, such as the physician David Sheen. Another prominent member of the clan is Danjae Shin Chaeho, a 19th-century nationalist historian.

People with the Surname Shin(Sin) include:

Fictional
  • Stephen Shin, a character of DC Comic series Aquaman
  • Shin Kyung-soo, one of the two female leads of 2003 South Korean drama Rosemary
  • Shin Ji-hyun, main character of 2011 South Korean drama 49 Days
  • Shin Suk-ki, the main protagonist of 2004 South Korean movie Shinsukki Blues
  • Shin Ji-hoon, one of main characters of 2012 South Korean television series I Need Romance 2012
  • Shin Joo-yeon, female lead of 2014 South Korean series I Need Romance 3
  • Shin Ji-min, real name of Song Yi-kyung, a main character from 2011 South Korean drama 49 Days
  • Shin Chae-kyung, female lead of 2017 South Korean drama Queen for Seven Days
  • Shin Se-gi, split personality of Cha Do-hyun, a DID patient and main character of 2015 South Korean television series Kill Me, Heal Me
  • Shin Ha-kyung, female lead of 2014 South Korean series Punch
  • Shin Suk-ho, main lead of 2016 South Korean series Entertainer
  • Shin Woo Yeo, main lead of 2021 South Korean series My Roommate Is a Gumiho
  • Shin Young-joo, female lead of 2017 South Korean drama Whisper
  • Shin Sang, male character of 2021 South Korean series Mouse
  • Shin Ah-ri, one of the female leads of 2021 South Korean series No Matter What

As a Given name

There are 34 hanja with the reading "shin"[4] on the South Korean government's official list of hanja which may be used in given names. The meaning differs based on the hanja used to write it.

First syllable

People named "Shin-hye'".


People named "Shin-young".

Second syllable
  • Hyo-shin

People named "Hyo-shin".

  • Park Hyo-shin (born 1981), South Korean singer and musical theatre actor

See also

References
  1. However, most all Koreans know that 'Sin' has a negative meaning in the English-speaking world, so mostly using 'Shin'.
  2. List of Korean given names
  3. 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "신"
  4. 대법원 인명용 : 네이버 한자사전 "신"
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