Kim Al-chi (; unknown–?), was a historical figure in

Korean history The Lower Paleolithic era on the Korean Peninsula and in 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 earli ...

. His descendants formed the Kim royal clan of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

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

Talhae of Silla Talhae (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-hae (昔� ...

. Though Kim Al-chi never ruled as the 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. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

ns are in the Gyeongju Kim clan, who trace their genealogy to Kim Al-chi.

Birth legend

The

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...

and

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...

both contain nearly the same story about Kim Al-chi's birth. In the year 65 (9th year of Talhae's reign), King Talhae heard a rooster crowing in

Sirim SIRIM Berhad, formerly known as the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), is a corporate organization owned wholly by the Malaysian Government, under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI). It has been entrusted by t ...

, west of Geumseong (

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

, the Silla capital at the time). He sent his minister, Hogong, 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 "Kim (金, meaning gold) Al-chi(Alti) (meaning 'gold' in native Korean, with the

hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

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 (who is said to have called himself Alji Geoseokhan). Korean archeologist, Kim Byong-mo, has suggested that the Kim Al-chi(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 Kim clan

Kim'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 (Kim Al-chi's seventh generation descendant) was the first Silla king of the Kim line,

Michu of Silla Michu 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, a lea ...

. Sehan usually considered as the same one with Kim Sŏng-han, who was described as a Taejo of Silla from 6th century.

Sources

* 三國史記 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Al-chi Silla people Gyeongju Kim clan 1st-century Korean people Year of birth unknown Characters in Korean mythology

Birth legend

Death

Royal Kim clan

See also

Sources