Editing Koreans (section)

===Genetics{{anchor|Genetic studies}}===
{{Main|Genetic history of East Asians#Korean people}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 231
| 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>