Seoul (AsiaNews) – To the surprise of many Koreans, the family trees of two noble families dating back to the eras of the Koryo (918 – 1392) and Choson (1392 – 1910) kings have been entered into a database, which will soon be made available to the public.

The Institute of Korean culture of the Korea University said it has computerized the family trees of more than 60,000 people recorded in genealogical books of the Kwon family from Andong, North Kyongsang Province, and of the Yu family from Munhwa in Hwanghaedo, in North Korea.

The family trees of the two families were published in 1476 and 1565 respectively, both before the 17th century when many family trees were fabricated. They have come to be recognized by scholars as sound historical material due to their detailed recordings from the beginning of the Koryo period.

Since last September, the institute has put on database information about 9,000 people from the Kwon family and 55,000 people from the Yu family.

The database includes name, date of birth, date of death, government post, pen name, and information about family members. To supplement insufficient information in family books, the institute researched the chronicles of the Choson Kingdom, inscriptions on tombs and literature. In most cases, the family trees contained information only about men of the family because of the country's patriarchal system, but there was also data about women.  

Lee Jung-ran, a researcher at the institute, said "the computerized database is designed to trace relationships between people. By using the computer mouse to click on a man's name, for example, you can find out about his family members, including his wife, children, relatives on the mother's side, and in-laws. And if you click on one of his relative's names on his mother's side, you can find personal information about the relative as well as data on the relative's family members." Lee said that some families had tried to computerize their family trees by creating PDF files.

Throughout the computerization process, the institute also found that women had a high social position and dealt with family affairs on an equal level as men until the beginning of the Choson Kingdom. "That is why women's names and information about their in-laws were listed on family trees as well as information about the men's side of the family,'' she said.

For example, Admiral Yi Sun-sin and Confucian scholar Toegye Lee Hwang, were registered on the Yu family tree book, although their surnames are not Yu, because they were descended from the Yu family through women.