Gim Alji(Kim Alti) (, 金閼智; 65–?) was a historical figure in

Korean history The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825. The earliest ...

. His descendants formed the Gim royal clan of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

. His legendary birth is said to have occurred during the reign of Silla's fourth ruler, King

Talhae of Silla Talhae of Silla (5 BC –80 AD, r. 57–80) was the fourth king of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is commonly called Talhae Isageum, ''isageum'' being the royal title in early Silla. Also known by his personal name as Seok Tal-ha ...

. Though Gim Alji did not rule as King of Silla, his descendants did. Today, 1.7 million

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

ns are in the

Gyeongju Gim Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

clan, who trace their genealogy to Gim Alji.

Birth legend

The Samguk Yusa and

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

both contain nearly the same story about Gim Alji's birth. In the year 65 (9th year of Talhae's reign), King Talhae heard a rooster crowing in Sirim, west of Geumseong ( Gyeongju, the Silla capital at the time). He sent his minister,

Hogong Hogong was a minister of Silla in the age of nation-building. It is recorded that he was originally from the Wa people of Japan, though his family name or clan name was unknown to the compiler of the Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms. � ...

, who was from Japan, to investigate, whereupon Hogong found a golden box hanging on a branch. Light was emanating from the box, and a white rooster was crowing under it. Hearing this report, the king ordered the box brought to him. When the king opened the box, there was an infant inside. The king was very pleased and adopted him. Because he was born from a golden box and was very clever, the king named him "Gim (金, meaning gold) Alji(Alti) (meaning 'gold' in native Korean, with the

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

閼智 supposed to be read phonetically)". The forest where the box was found was named Gyerim (rooster forest), which also was used as the name of Silla. This legend is similar to the birth legend of the founder of Silla,

Bak Hyeokgeose of Silla Hyeokgeose of Silla (69 BC – 4 AD, r. 57 BC–4 AD), also known by his personal full name as Bak (Park, Pak) Hyeokgeose (朴赫居世), was the founding monarch of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the progenitor of all ...

(who is said to have called himself Alji Geoseogan). Many scholars have suggested that the Gim Alji(Alti) may have been the chief of a "gold" (''altin'') clan of northern Korea/Manchuria.

Death

The circumstances and time of his death are currently unknown and cannot be precisely located within any records, but it is known that his descendants continued to serve as powerful officials within the Silla court until the time came when they took power.

Royal Gim clan

Gim's son was Sehan (세한(勢漢)), and subsequent generations are recorded as: Ado (아도(阿都)) - Suryu (수류(首留)) - Ukbo (욱보(郁甫)) - Gudo (구도(俱道)). Gudo's son (Gim Alji's seventh generation descendant) was the first Silla king of the Gim line,

Michu of Silla Michu of Silla was the thirteenth ruler of the Korean state of Silla (r. 262–284). He was the first king of the Kim clan to sit on the Silla throne; this clan would hold the throne for most of Silla's later history. He was the son of Gudo ...

Sources

* 三國史記 {{in lang, zh Silla people Gim clan of Gyeongju 1st-century Korean people 65 births

Birth legend

Death

Royal Gim clan

See also

Sources