Editing Koreans (section)

==Origins==
The origin of Koreans has not been well clarified yet. Based on linguistic, archaeologic and genetic evidence, their place of origin is located somewhere in [[Northeast Asia]], but its exact pattern of expansion and arrival into the Korean peninsula remain unclear.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Jangsuk |last2=Park |first2=Jinho |date=2020-05-05 |title=Millet vs rice: an evaluation of the farming/language dispersal hypothesis in the Korean context |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |volume=2 |pages=e12 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.13 |issn=2513-843X |pmid=37588344|pmc=10427441 }}</ref>

Koreans were suggested to have originated from a similar source as Central Asian Mongolians from a genetic perspective.<ref name="pubmed1510113">Kim, W., Saitou, N., & Jin, L. (1992). [Phylogenetic relationships of East Asian populations, inferred from restriction patterns of mitochondrial DNA](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1510113/). *Molecular Biology and Evolution, 9*(5), 547-553. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040753</ref>Archaeological evidence suggests that Proto-Koreans were migrants from [[Manchuria]] during the [[Liaoning bronze dagger culture|Bronze Age]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ahn|first=Sung-Mo|title=The emergence of rice agriculture in Korea: archaeobotanical perspectives|journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences|volume=2|issue=2|date=June 2010|pages=89–98 |doi=10.1007/s12520-010-0029-9|bibcode=2010ArAnS...2...89A |s2cid=129727300}}</ref> The origins of the [[Korean language]] and people are subjects of ongoing debate. Some theories suggest connections to the Altaic region, proposing links with languages and populations in Northern Asia, including Mongolic, Turkic, and Tungusic groups. However, these claims remain inconclusive, and many scholars argue that Korean belongs to its own distinct Koreanic family, with unique linguistic and cultural origins.<ref name="researchgateAltaic">Kim, J. (2021). [Relationship between the Altaic Languages and the Korean Language](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348061296_Relationship_between_the_Altaic_Languages_and_the_Korean_Language). *ResearchGate.*</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cho |first1=Sungdai |last2=Lee |first2=Hyo Sang |title=Korean: A Linguistic Introduction |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0521514859}}</ref>

Scholars suggest that Koreanic speakers came from Northeast Asia and migrated southwards to the [[Korean Peninsula]], where they replaced or assimilated the local Japonic speakers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Janhunen|first=Juha|date=2010|title=RReconstructing the Language Map of Prehistorical Northeast Asia|journal=Studia Orientalia|quote=... there are strong indications that the neighbouring Baekje state (in the southwest) was predominantly Japonic-speaking until it was linguistically Koreanized.|number=108}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vovin |first1=Alexander |title=From Koguryŏ to T'amna: Slowly riding to the South with speakers of Proto-Korean |journal=Korean Linguistics |date=31 December 2013 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=217–235 |doi=10.1075/kl.15.2.03vov}}</ref> Whitman (2011) suggests that the [[Proto-Korean]]s arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BCE and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Whitman|first=John|date=1 December 2011|title=Northeast Asian Linguistic Ecology and the Advent of Rice Agriculture in Korea and Japan|journal=Rice|volume=4|issue=3|pages=149–158|doi=10.1007/s12284-011-9080-0 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2011Rice....4..149W }}</ref> Vovin suggests Proto-Korean is equivalent to the variant of Koreanic languages spoken in southern Manchuria and northern Korean Peninsula by the time of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]] period and spread to southern Korea through influence from [[Goguryeo|Goguryeo migrants]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Vovin, Alexander (2008). From Koguryo to Tamna: Slowly Riding to the South with Speakers of Proto-Korean|journal=Korean Linguistics|volume=15}} Linguistic evidence indicates speakers of</ref> The arrival of early Koreans can be associated with the Bronze Age dagger culture, which expanded from the West Liao River region.<ref name=KimPark>{{Cite journal|last1=Kim|first1=Jangsuk|last2=Park|first2=Jinho|date=2020|title=Millet vs rice: an evaluation of the farming/language dispersal hypothesis in the Korean context|journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences|publisher=Cambridge University Press|language=en|volume=2|pages=e12 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.13|pmid=37588344 |pmc=10427441 |issn=2513-843X|doi-access=free|quote=He also suggests that the arrival of Koreanic in Korea was associated with the spread of the Korean-style bronze dagger culture from present-day northeast China to Korea around 300 BCE. ... <br><br> While pottery styles clearly differ between northeast China and the Korean Peninsula, an influx of northeast Chinese pottery styles into Korea has not been detected, and the styles of the two areas remain distinct long after the appearance of millet with little change in Chulmun pottery styles over time. ... <br><br>  However, as outlined above, because the Korean Peninsula was already occupied by Chulmun hunter–fisher–gatherers since at least 6000 BCE, a key to evaluating the millet hypothesis is determining whether millet was adopted by the Chulmun foragers (diffusion) or whether it was brought along as a part of a large-scale migration of farmers from Liaoning. If millet was introduced as a result of a large-scale migration of farmers from Liaoning, an archaeologically detectable influx of Liaoning culture and changes in material culture after the introduction of millet should be expected, because vessel shape, manufacturing technology and the design layout and motifs of Korean Chulmun pottery markedly differ from those of Liaoning pottery. However, there is no detectable appearance of elements of Liaoning material culture that accompanies the arrival of millets. ... <br><br> Even if millet was brought by some migrants from northeast China to Korea, archaeological evidence demonstrates that the scale of migration was probably not large enough to lead to a fundamental linguistic change or the dispersal of a linguistic family.}}</ref> Archaeologic evidence points to a connection between the pottery-making style of the Late Neolithic to Bronze Age cultures in the West Liao River basin and the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Osada |first1=Naoki |last2=Kawai |first2=Yosuke |date=2021 |title=Exploring models of human migration to the Japanese archipelago using genome-wide genetic data |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase/129/1/129_201215/_html/-char/ja |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=129 |issue=1 |pages=45–58 |doi=10.1537/ase.201215|doi-access=free }}</ref> Miyamoto 2021 similarly argues that Proto-Koreanic arrived with the "rolled rim vessel culture" (Jeomtodae culture) from the [[Liaodong Peninsula]], gradually replacing the Japonic speakers of the [[Mumun pottery period|Mumun]]-[[Yayoi period|Yayoi culture]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Miyamoto |first=Kazuo |date=January 2022 |title=The emergence of 'Transeurasian' language families in Northeast Asia as viewed from archaeological evidence |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |language=en |volume=4 |pages=e3 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2021.49 |pmid=37588923 |pmc=10426040 |issn=2513-843X |quote=Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the people of the Jeomtodae pottery culture, the direct ancestors of Three kingdom states, spoke Proto-Koreanic.|hdl=2324/4796095 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

However, some scholars{{Who|date=January 2024}} reject the notion that the Korean speakers were not native to the Korean Peninsula, and argue that no solid evidence of such linguistic migration/shift as well as population and material change in the peninsular region has ever been found to support later migrations.<ref name=KimPark/> 

The largest concentration of [[dolmen]]s in the world is found on the [[Korean Peninsula]]. In fact, with an estimated 35,000-100,000 dolmens,{{sfn|Nelson|1993|p=147}} Korea accounts for nearly 40% of the world's total. Similar dolmens can be found in Northeast China, the [[Shandong Peninsula]] and the island of [[Kyushu]], yet it is unclear why this culture only flourished so extensively on the Korean Peninsula and its surroundings compared to the bigger remainder of Northeast Asia.

===Genetics{{anchor|Genetic studies}}===
{{Main|Genetic history of East Asians#Korean people}}
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Geographic location and dates of ancient individuals in Northern East Asia.png
| caption1          = Geographic location and dates of ancient individuals in Northeast Asia. The Bronze Age West Liao River farmers (WLR_BA) display long-term genetic continuity with modern Koreans.
| image2            = Proto-Koreanic expansion (Whiteman 2011).png
| caption2          = Proto-Macro-Koreanic arrived after Proto-Japonic from Liaodong and the Changbaishan region with the introduction of bronze daggers around 300 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Whitman |first=John |date=December 2011 |title=Northeast Asian Linguistic Ecology and the Advent of Rice Agriculture in Korea and Japan |journal=Rice |language=en |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=149–158 |doi=10.1007/s12284-011-9080-0 |bibcode=2011Rice....4..149W |issn=1939-8433|doi-access=free }}</ref>
}}

A population genetic study examined the origins of Koreans using 13 polymorphic and 7 monomorphic blood genetic markers (serum proteins and red cell enzymes) from 437 Koreans. Genetic distance analyses, performed through cluster and principal components models, compared Koreans with eight populations: [[Korean Chinese]], [[Japanese people|Japanese]], [[Han Chinese]], [[Mongols]], [[Zhuang people|Zhuangs]], [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]], [[Javanese people|Javanese]], and [[Central Asians|Soviet Asians]]. This analysis, based on 47 alleles across 15 polymorphic loci, demonstrated that Koreans genetically share similarities with Central Asian Mongolian groups. A more detailed analysis using 65 alleles across 19 polymorphic loci reinforced these findings, and also revealed a closer genetic relationship between Koreans and Japanese and a more distant relationship with Han Chinese. The results align with ethnohistoric accounts of the origin of Koreans and their language. Additionally, the [[Koreans in China|Korean minority in China]] were shown to have maintained their distinct genetic identity.<ref>Kim W, Han BG, Shin DJ, et al. Origin of Koreans: A population genetic study. *PubMed*. 1992. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1510113/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1510113/)</ref> 

Modern Koreans primarily descend from Bronze Age farmers from the West [[Liao River]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Na |last2=Tao |first2=Le |last3=Wang |first3=Rui |last4=Zhu |first4=Kongyang |last5=Hai |first5=Xiangjun |last6=Wang |first6=Chuan-Chao |date=2 January 2023 |title=The genetic structure and admixture of Manchus and Koreans in northeast China |journal=Annals of Human Biology |language=en |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=161–171 |doi=10.1080/03014460.2023.2182912 |issn=0301-4460 |pmid=36809229 |quote=Koreans can also be modelled as deriving ancestry from a single source related to WLR_BA, consisting of the transmission route of farming from the northeast to the Korean Peninsula and even the Japanese islands (Kwak et al. 2017; Kim and Park 2020). |doi-access=free}}</ref> These farmers can be modeled as having [[Ancient Northern East Asian]] ancestry, related to Neolithic Yellow River farmers, and [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] ancestry, related to Amur hunter-gatherers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Rui |last2=Wang |first2=Chuan-Chao |date=8 August 2022 |title=Human genetics: The dual origin of Three Kingdoms period Koreans |journal=Current Biology |volume=32 |issue=15 |pages=R844–R847 |bibcode=2022CBio...32.R844W |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.044 |issn=0960-9822 |pmid=35944486 |quote=The northern East Asian ancestry was suggested to be related to the Neolithic West Liao River farmers in northeast China, who were an admixture of ANA and NYR ancestry3. The finding indicated that West Liao River-related farmers might have spread the proto-Korean language as their ancestry was found to be predominant in extant Koreans. Proto-Korean groups, in turn, introduced West Liao River-like ancestry into the gene pool of present-day Japan5. |doi-access=free}}</ref> Bronze Age West Liao River ancestry is also associated with the [[Upper Xiajiadian culture]], which in turn can be used as source proxy for Bronze Age and modern Koreans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ning |first1=Chao |last2=Li |first2=Tianjiao |last3=Wang |first3=Ke |last4=Zhang |first4=Fan |last5=Li |first5=Tao |last6=Wu |first6=Xiyan |last7=Gao |first7=Shizhu |last8=Zhang |first8=Quanchao |last9=Zhang |first9=Hai |last10=Hudson |first10=Mark J. |last11=Dong |first11=Guanghui |last12=Wu |first12=Sihao |last13=Fang |first13=Yanming |last14=Liu |first14=Chen |last15=Feng |first15=Chunyan |date=1 June 2020 |title=Ancient genomes from northern China suggest links between subsistence changes and human migration |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=2700 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2700N |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16557-2 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7264253 |pmid=32483115 |hdl-access=free |hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-30F2-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |last2=Bouckaert |first2=Remco |last3=Conte |first3=Matthew |last4=Savelyev |first4=Alexander |last5=Li |first5=Tao |last6=An |first6=Deog-Im |last7=Shinoda |first7=Ken-ichi |last8=Cui |first8=Yinqiu |last9=Kawashima |first9=Takamune |last10=Kim |first10=Geonyoung |last11=Uchiyama |first11=Junzo |last12=Dolińska |first12=Joanna |last13=Oskolskaya |first13=Sofia |last14=Yamano |first14=Ken-Yōjiro |last15=Seguchi |first15=Noriko |date=November 2021 |title=Triangulation supports agricultural spread of the Transeurasian languages |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=599 |issue=7886 |pages=616–621 |bibcode=2021Natur.599..616R |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04108-8 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8612925 |pmid=34759322 |quote=...Bronze Age Taejungni, given the Bronze Age date it can be best modelled as Upper Xiajiadian}}</ref> Affinities with populations from the [[Neolithic]] [[Chertovy Vorota Cave|Devil's Gate]] at the Amur region exist too, clustering with present Koreans and Japanese along with certain Tungusic groups, such as [[Ulch people|Ulchis]], [[Nanai people|Nanais]], and [[Oroqens]]. These populations were an admixture of Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian sources although the study's authors acknowledge that the sample size is too small to make this conclusion. <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Siska |first1=Veronika |last2=Jones |first2=Eppie Ruth |last3=Jeon |first3=Sungwon |last4=Bhak |first4=Youngjune |last5=Kim |first5=Hak-Min |last6=Cho |first6=Yun Sung |last7=Kim |first7=Hyunho |last8=Lee |first8=Kyusang |last9=Veselovskaya |first9=Elizaveta |last10=Balueva |first10=Tatiana |last11=Gallego-Llorente |first11=Marcos |date=3 February 2017 |title=Genome-wide data from two early Neolithic East Asian individuals dating to 7700 years ago |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=e1601877 |bibcode=2017SciA....3E1877S |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1601877 |pmc=5287702 |pmid=28164156}}</ref> Wang and Wang (2022) stated that Koreans from the [[Three Kingdoms period of Korea|Three Kingdoms Period]] also have [[Jōmon people|Jōmon]] ancestry, which ranged from 10% to 95%,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=The Asia Pacific |date=August 2022 |title=Re-thinking Jōmon and Ainu in Japanese History |url=https://apjjf.org/2022/15/Hudson.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus}}</ref> and significantly contributed to the genetic makeup of modern Koreans. But subsequent arrivals of newcomers from [[Manchuria]] 'diluted' this Jōmon ancestry and made the Koreans genetically homogenous.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Rui |last2=Wang |first2=Chuan-Chao |date=2022-08-08 |title=Human genetics: The dual origin of Three Kingdoms period Koreans |journal=[[Current Biology]] |language=en |volume=32 |issue=15 |pages=R844–R847 |bibcode=2022CBio...32.R844W |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.044 |issn=0960-9822 |pmid=35944486 |s2cid=251410856 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Overall, present Koreans derive about 85% of their ancestry from Bronze Age West Liao River populations and 15% of their ancestry from settlers associated with [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples#Genetics|Taiwan's Hanben culture]]. Interactions with settlers from southern China, associated with Iron Age Cambodians, furthermore account for significant genetic variation in modern Koreans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Jungeun |last2=Jeon |first2=Sungwon |last3=Choi |first3=Jae-Pil |last4=Blazyte |first4=Asta |display-authors=3 |date=2020 |title=The Origin and Composition of Korean Ethnicity Analyzed by Ancient and Present-Day Genome Sequences |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=553–565 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evaa062 |pmc=7250502 |pmid=32219389 |quote=[...] the current genetic foundation of Koreans may have been established through a rapid admixture with ancient Southern Chinese populations associated with Iron Age Cambodians. We speculate that this admixing trend initially occurred mostly outside the Korean peninsula followed by continuous spread and localization in Korea, corresponding to the general admixture trend of East Asia. Over 70% of extant Korean genetic diversity is explained to be derived from such a recent population expansion and admixture from the South.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Na |last2=Tao |first2=Le |last3=Wang |first3=Rui |last4=Zhu |first4=Kongyan |last5=Hai |first5=Xiangjun |last6=Wang |first6=Chuan-Chao |date=2023 |title=The genetic structure and admixture of Manchus and Koreans in northeast China |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=161–171 |doi=10.1080/03014460.2023.2182912 |doi-access=free|pmid=36809229 }}</ref> Jōmon ancestry in modern Koreans is also estimated to be about 5%.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=E. Andrew |last2=Liu |first2=Yichen |last3=Fu |first3=Qiaomei |date=3 December 2024 |title=Reconstructing the Human Population History of East Asia through Ancient Genomics |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/reconstructing-the-human-population-history-of-east-asia-through-ancient-genomics/0524D629660B5E43FC7094C043D54C6A |journal=Elements in Ancient East Asia |language=en |doi=10.1017/9781009246675 |isbn=978-1-009-24667-5 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Koreans display high frequencies of the Y-DNA haplogroups [[Haplogroup O-M122|O2-M122]] (approximately 40% of all present-day Korean males), O1b2-M176 (approximately 30%), and [[Haplogroup C-M217|C2-M217]] (approximately 15%).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kim|first1=Soon-Hee|last2=Kim|first2=Ki-Cheol|last3=Shin|first3=Dong-Jik|last4=Jin|first4=Han-Jun|last5=Kwak|first5=Kyoung-Don|last6=Han|first6=Myun-Soo|last7=Song|first7=Joon-Myong|last8=Kim|first8=Won|last9=Kim|first9=Wook|date=4 April 2011|title=High frequencies of Y-chromosome haplogroup O2b-SRY465 lineages in Korea: a genetic perspective on the peopling of Korea|journal=Investigative Genetics|volume=2|issue=1|pages=10|doi=10.1186/2041-2223-2-10 |pmc=3087676|pmid=21463511 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some regional variance may exist; in a study of South Korean Y-DNA published in 2011, the ratio of O2-M122 to O1b2-M176 is greatest in Seoul-Gyeonggi (1.8065), with the ratio declining in a counterclockwise direction around South Korea (Chungcheong 1.6364, Jeolla 1.3929, Jeju 1.3571, Gyeongsang 1.2400, Gangwon 0.9600).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Wook |date=April 2011 |title=High frequencies of Y-chromosome haplogroup O2b-SRY465 lineages in Korea: a genetic perspective on the peopling of Korea |journal=  Investigative Genetics|volume=2 |issue=10 |page=10 |doi=10.1186/2041-2223-2-10 |pmid=21463511 |pmc=3087676 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hong |first=Shi |date=14 July 2005 |title=Y-Chromosome Evidence of Southern Origin of the East Asian–Specific Haplogroup O3-M122 |journal= The American Journal of Human Genetics|volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=408–419 |doi=10.1086/444436 |pmid=16080116 |pmc=1226206 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hwang |first=Jung-Hee |date=20 June 2008 |title=A MELAS syndrome family harboring two mutations in mitochondrial genome |journal=Experimental & Molecular Medicine |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=354–360 |doi=10.3858/emm.2008.40.3.354 |pmid=18587274 |pmc=2679288 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jeong |first1=Choongwon |last2=Wang |first2=Ke |last3=Wilkin |first3=Shevan |last4=Taylor |first4=William Timothy Treal |last5=Miller |first5=Bryan K. |last6=Bemmann |first6=Jan H. |last7=Stahl |first7=Raphaela |last8=Chiovelli |first8=Chelsea |last9=Knolle |first9=Florian |last10=Ulziibayar |first10=Sodnom |last11=Khatanbaatar |first11=Dorjpurev |last12=Erdenebaatar |first12=Diimaajav |last13=Erdenebat |first13=Ulambayar |last14=Ochir |first14=Ayudai |last15=Ankhsanaa |first15=Ganbold |last16=Vanchigdash |first16=Chuluunkhuu |last17=Ochir |first17=Battuga |last18=Munkhbayar |first18=Chuluunbat |last19=Tumen |first19=Dashzeveg |last20=Kovalev |first20=Alexey |last21=Kradin |first21=Nikolay |last22=Bazarov |first22=Bilikto A. |last23=Miyagashev |first23=Denis A. |last24=Konovalov |first24=Prokopiy B. |last25=Zhambaltarova |first25=Elena |last26=Miller |first26=Alicia Ventresca |last27=Haak |first27=Wolfgang |last28=Schiffels |first28=Stephan |last29=Krause |first29=Johannes |last30=Boivin |first30=Nicole |last31=Erdene |first31=Myagmar |last32=Hendy |first32=Jessica |last33=Warinner |first33=Christina |title=A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe |journal=Cell |date=November 2020 |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=890–904.e29 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015 |pmid=33157037 |pmc=7664836 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Fei |last2=Song |first2=Liqu |last3=Zhang |first3=Longnian |title=Population genetics for 17 Y-STR loci in Korean ethnic minority from Liaoning Province, Northeast China |journal=Forensic Science International: Genetics |date=May 2016 |volume=22 |pages=e9–e11 |doi=10.1016/j.fsigen.2016.01.007 |pmid=26818791 }}</ref> [[Haplogroup C-M217|Haplogroup C2-M217]] tends to be found in about 13% of males from most regions of South Korea, but it is somewhat more common (about 17%) among males from the [[Gyeongsang Province|Gyeongsang]] region in the southeast of the peninsula and somewhat less common (about 7%) among males from [[Jeju Province|Jeju]], located off the southwest coast of the peninsula.<ref name="Kim2011">{{cite journal | last1 = Kim | first1 = Soon-Hee | last2 = Kim | first2 = Ki-Cheol | last3 = Shin | first3 = Dong-Jik | display-authors = etal | year = 2011| title = High frequencies of Y-chromosome haplogroup O2b-SRY465 lineages in Korea: a genetic perspective on the peopling of Korea | journal = Investigative Genetics | volume = 2011 | issue = 2| page = 10 | doi = 10.1186/2041-2223-2-10 | pmid = 21463511 | pmc = 3087676 | s2cid = 206977488 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Haplogroup C2-M217 has been found in a greater proportion (about 26%) of a small sample (''n''=19) of males from North Korea.<ref name="Zhong2010">Hua Zhong, Hong Shi, Xue-Bin Qi, Chun-Jie Xiao, Li Jin, Runlin Z Ma, and Bing Su, "Global distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroup C reveals the prehistoric migration routes of African exodus and early settlement in East Asia." ''Journal of Human Genetics'' (2010) 55, 428–435.  doi:10.1038/jhg.2010.40</ref><ref name="Zhong2011">Hua Zhong, Hong Shi, Xue-Bin Qi, Zi-Yuan Duan, Ping-Ping Tan, Li Jin, Bing Su, and Runlin Z. Ma (2011), "Extended Y Chromosome Investigation Suggests Postglacial Migrations of Modern Humans into East Asia via the Northern Route." ''Mol. Biol. Evol.'' 28(1):717–727. doi:10.1093/molbev/msq247</ref> However, haplogroups are not a reliable indicator of an individual's overall ancestry; Koreans are more similar to one another in regard to their autosomes than they are similar to members of other ethnic groups. Studies of [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|polymorphisms in the human Y-chromosome]] have so far produced evidence to suggest that the Korean people have a long history as a distinct, mostly [[Endogamy|endogamous]] ethnic group, with successive prehistoric waves of people moving to the peninsula and two major Y-chromosome haplogroups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hee Kim |first1=Soon |year=2010 |title=Y chromosome homogeneity in the Korean population |journal=International Journal of Legal Medicine |volume=124 |issue=6 |pages=653–657 |doi=10.1007/s00414-010-0501-1 |pmid=20714743 |s2cid=27125545}}</ref>
The mitochondrial DNA markers ([[Mitochondrial DNA|mtDNA haplogroups]] and HVR-I sequences) of Korean populations showed close relationships with Manchurians, Japanese, Mongolians and Northern Chinese but not with Southeast Asians. Y-chromosomal distances showed a close relationship to most East Asian population groups, including Southeast Asian ones.<ref name="Jin">{{Cite journal|last1=Jin|first1=Han-Jun|last2=Tyler-Smith|first2=Chris|last3=Kim|first3=Wook|date=16 January 2009|title=The Peopling of Korea Revealed by Analyses of Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosomal Markers|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=4|issue=1|pages=e4210|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0004210 |pmc=2615218|pmid=19148289|bibcode=2009PLoSO...4.4210J|doi-access=free}}</ref> 

Koreans share a close genetic relationship with Yamato Japanese and Manchu populations, as well as other Tungusic-speaking groups, reflecting shared ancestry and historical interactions. Additionally, they exhibit genetic affinity with Northern Han Chinese populations, though to a lesser degree compared to Manchu and Japanese populations. These relationships are supported by genome-wide analyses highlighting the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations.<ref name="Cell Press" /><ref name="John Wiley & Sons" /><ref name="Wang Yuchen" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Kim |first1=Young Jin |last2=Jin |first2=Han Jun |date= 2013 |title = Dissecting the genetic structure of Korean population using genome-wide SNP arrays |journal=Genes Genom |location=Cambridge |publisher= The Genetics Society of Korea |publication-date=2014 |volume=24 |issue=3 |page=360 |doi=10.1007/s13258-013-0082-8 |s2cid=256065429}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Pan |first1=Ziqing |last2=Xu |first2=Shuhua |date=2019 |title=Population genomics of East Asian ethnic groups |journal=[[Hereditas]] |location=Berlin |publisher=[[BioMed Central]] |publication-date=2020 |volume=157 |issue=49 |page=5 |doi=10.1186/s41065-020-00162-w |pmid=33292737 |pmc=7724877 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="GW" /> The study "Genomic insights into the formation of human populations in East Asia" states that Koreans are genetically closest to Yamato Japanese based on FST genetic distance measurements. The research highlights the complex genetic structure of East Asian populations, shaped by historical migrations and admixture events.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Chuan-Chao |last2=Yeh |first2=Hui-Yuan |last3=Popov |first3=Alexander |date=2021 |title=Population genomics of East Asian ethnic groups |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |location=Berlin |publisher=[[Nature Portfolio]] |publication-date=2021 |volume=7850 |issue=591 |pages=413–419 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-03336-2 |pmc=7993749 |pmid=33618348 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The reference population for Koreans used in [[Genographic Project#Geno 2.0 Next Generation|Geno 2.0 Next Generation]] is 94% Eastern Asia and 5% Southeast Asia & Oceania.<ref>[[Genographic Project#Geno 2.0 Next Generation|Reference Populations - Geno 2.0 Next Generation]] . (2017). [[Genographic Project|The Genographic Project]]. Retrieved 15 May 2017, from [https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen/ link.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031612/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen// |date=7 February 2017}}</ref>

===Genealogy===
[[Korea Foundation]] Associate Professor of History, Eugene Y. Park said that many Koreans seem to have a [[Genealogy|genealogical]] memory blackout before the twentieth century.<ref name="ProfessorEugenePark">Eugene Y. Park. (n.d.). [[University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences|Penn Arts & Sciences]] East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Retrieved 24 January 2018, from [https://www.sas.upenn.edu/ealc/people/eugene-y-park link.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111194602/https://www.sas.upenn.edu/ealc/people/eugene-y-park |date=11 November 2017 }}</ref><!--This first citation is to cite Eugene Y. Park's credential as "Korea Foundation Associate Professor of History".--><!--The context of Park's statements indicate that the, "memory blackout, before the twentieth century" which Park talked about, refers to a genealogical memory blackout.--><ref>Eugene Y. Park, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=7m6s from the 7:06 mark of the YouTube video to the 7:38 mark of the YouTube video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905151326/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=7m6s |date=5 September 2020 }}, said, "''Secondly, on the one hand, so many Koreans seem to talk, to be able to tell, one, something about his or her [[Kim (Korean surname)#Gyeongju|Gyeongju Kim]] ancestors, of a [[Silla]] kingdom two-thousand years ago. And yet, such a person is unlikely to be able to tell you something about his or her great-great-grandparents, what they were doing hundred years ago, what their occupations were, where they were living, where their family graves are. In other words, a memory blackout, before the twentieth century.''"</ref> According to him the vast majority of Koreans do not know their actual genealogical history.<!--The context of Park's statements indicate that when Park said, "the vast majority of Koreans have lost memory of their actual history," Park was referring to having lost memory of their actual genealogical history.--> Through "inventing tradition" in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, families devised a kind of master narrative story that purports to explain a surname-ancestral seat combination's history to the extent where it is next to impossible to look beyond these master narrative stories.<ref>Eugene Y. Park, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=16m54s from the 16:54 mark of the YouTube video to the 18:54 mark of the YouTube video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705053044/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=16m54s |date=5 July 2020 }}, said, "''So, from this point on, then, I would like to survey, how the Koreans descended. Koreans, depending on their ancestors' status category, have dealt with genealogy and ancestry consciousness, in the last, differently, in the last two centuries. And, of course, most Koreans are not descendants of aristocrats, but, the, but what happened in the last hundred fifty, hundred to hundred fifty years, is that those Koreans, the vast majority of Koreans have lost memory of their actual history, in the sense where now, any outside observer who might ask a Korean person about ancestry, would be left with the impression that every Korean is now of aristocratic descent. So let me begin with the aristocracy. In the early modern era, the kind of a master narrative, stories that purport to explain a particular surname-ancestral seat combination's history, crystallize, they became set in stone, through inventing tradition. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, many, all families devise such a stories, to the extent where, now today in Korea, anybody who is interested in tracing his or her ancestry, has to deal with such master narratives, but at the same time it is next to impossible to look beyond master narratives. In other words, in Korea, today, there's little sense of doing the kind of doing the genealogical research that you and I would do in the United States, by looking at [[United States Census|Census]] documents, and other types of documentation, that have been passed down through generations, or, have been maintained by the government.''"</ref> He gave an example of what "inventing tradition" was like from his own family's genealogy where a document from 1873 recorded three children in a particular family and a later 1920 document recorded an extra son in that same family.<ref>Eugene Y. Park, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=28m32s from the 28:32 mark of the YouTube video to the 29:21 mark of the YouTube video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905151321/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=28m32s |date=5 September 2020 }}, said, "''This is an example. Here we see records that gives us a better sense of what inventing tradition was like. Here, a page from an eighteen seventy-three Miryang Pak family genealogy. Here's a man, indicated inside the circle named, Ju ''([[wikt:冑#Korean|冑]])''. He had three sons: Eun-gyeong, Hyeon-gyeong, Won-gyeong ''([[wikt:子#Korean|子]] [[wikt:恩#Korean|恩]] [[wikt:慶#Korean|慶]], [[wikt:子#Korean|子]] [[wikt:賢#Korean|賢]] [[wikt:慶#Korean|慶]], [[wikt:子#Korean|子]] [[wikt:元#Korean|元]] [[wikt:慶#Korean|慶]])''. But the edition that was published a bit later in the nineteen twenty, so we see the same man, Ju, and, under him, we see sons: Eun-gyeong, Hyeon-gyeong, Won-gyeong and, the extra, the fourth son, out of nowhere, Tōkhwa ''([[wikt:子#Korean|子]] [[wikt:徳#Korean|徳]] [[wikt:華#Korean|華]])''. Actually, this is my family. So, this was commonly done in the modern era, the children, son out of nowhere or claims that we were left out centuries ago, and please include us.''"</ref> Park said that these master narratives connect the same surname and ancestral seat to a single, common ancestor. This trend became universal in the nineteenth century, but genealogies which were published in the seventeenth century actually admit that they did not know how the different lines of the same surname or ancestral seat are related at all.<ref>Eugene Y. Park, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=18m55s from the 18:55 mark of the YouTube video to the 19:30 mark of the YouTube video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901121608/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=18m55s |date=1 September 2020 }}, said, "''And, these master narratives, genealogically connect all descent lines of a same surname and ancestral seat, to a single, common, ancestor. And, this was the pattern that was, that became universal by the nineteenth century. Whereas, genealogies published in the seventeenth century, actually, frankly admit that we do not know how these different lines of the same surname or ancestral seat are related or connected at all. So, all these changes took place only in the last two hundred years or so.''"</ref> Only a small percentage of Koreans had surnames and ancestral seats to begin with, and that the rest of the Korean population had adopted these surname and ancestral seat identities within the last two to three hundred years.<ref>Eugene Y. Park, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=46m17s from the 46:17 mark of the YouTube video to the 47:02 mark of the YouTube video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905151324/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akiv2ji6EiY&t=46m17s |date=5 September 2020 }}, said, "''At any rate, so, once, so, based on one's surname Kim, let's say, and the ancestral seat, [[Kim (Korean surname)#Gimhae (Kimhae)|Kimhae]], which is the most common ancestral seat among Kim surname Koreans, one can then look up, consult reference books, encyclopedias, go online to, find all these stories about different branches, famous individuals who are Kimhae Kim. But the problem is, of course, before the early modern era, only a small percentage of Koreans had surnames and the ancestral seat to begin with. In other words, the rest of the population had adopted these identities in the last two-three hundred years, so where does one go from there? And, this was definitely my challenge when I was a child.''"</ref>