Im or Lim () is a common

Korean family name This is a list of Korean surnames, in Hangul alphabetical order. The most common Korean surname (particularly in South Korea) is Kim (Korean name), Kim (), followed by Lee (Korean name), Lee () and Park (Korean surname), Park (). These three sur ...

. The surname is identical to the Chinese character of the same name. According to the initial law of the Korean language, both "Im" and "Lim" are interchangeable.

History

The first clan branch is the Supul Rim (수풀 림, meaning "Forest-Rim") and its

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. () ...

character is 林. The Supul Rim or Lim or Im branch consists of two large clan houses; the first is Naju (early ''Hoijin'') and the second, which is the elder branch, is

Pyeongtaek Pyeongtaek (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval b ...

. Members of this branch often write their names as both 임 (Im; more common) and 림 (Rim or Lim; initial law). The character 林 means "forest". The second clan branch is the Matgil Im (맡길 임) or Mateul Im (맡을 임) and its Hanja character is 任. The Matgil Im/Mateul Im branch consists of one large clan house called Pungcheon Im clan and a smaller clan house called Jangheung (장흥). Members of this clan branch both write and pronounce their names as 임 (Im). The character 任 means "trusted/to bear, duty".

Romanization

When 林 (림 or 임) is romanized, it is spelled as "Rim" or "Im" in

McCune–Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization ( ) is a romanization system for the Korean language. It was first published in 1939 by George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer. According to Reischauer, McCune "persuaded the American Army Map Service to ad ...

and

Revised Romanization of Korean Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Romanization of Korean, Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Institute of Korean Language, National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and w ...

, as "Lim". When 任 (임) is romanized, it is spelled as "Im" both in McCune–Reischauer and Revised Romanization of Korean, or sometimes spelled "Yim". Statistics from the year 2000 show that there were 762,767 수풀 림 (林, Rim) and 172,726 맡길 임 (任, Im) in

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 ...

Notable people of the past

The following is a list of notable people of the past with the Korean family name Im/Lim/Rim. *

Im Sa-hong Im Sa-hong (; 1445–1506) was a Korean scholar official and member of the royal family of Joseon Dynasty. He was a close minister of King Yeonsangun of Joseon. His courtesy name was Yiui (). Hierarchy and Family * Father ** Im Won-jun (; ...

(1445–1506), Korean scholar official * Im Kkeokjeong (1521–1562), leader of the Hwanghae peasant rebellion * Im Che (1549–1587), Korean Confucianist nobleman *

Im Gyeong-eop Im Gyeong-eop (; 1594 – 1646) was a Korean general during the Joseon period. He participated in Korea's war against the Later Jin invasion of Joseon and Qing invasion of Joseon in the 17th century. After Ming forces surrendered to the Qing, ...

(1594–1646), Korean general *

Im Yunjidang Im Yunjidang (; 1721–1793) was a Korean writer and neo-Confucian philosopher from the Joseon period. She defended the right for a woman to become a Confucian master and argued that men and women did not differ in their human nature by interpreta ...

(1721–1793), Korean writer and neo-Confucian philosopher * Im Sang-ok (1779–1885), Korean trader

Notable people of the recent times

* I.M (born Im Chang-kyun, 1996), South Korean rapper, member of boy band Monsta X *

Im Chang-jung Lim Chang-jung (; born November 30, 1973) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is often referred by Koreans as "the original multi-entertainer" for being active in all three fields: music, film and entertainment. He made his acting ...

(born 1973), South Korean singer-songwriter and actor *

Dami Im Dami Im ( ; ; ; born 17 October 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and achieving the highes ...

(born 1988), Australian-Korean singer and songwriter *

Taebin Danny Im (born May 6, 1980), better known by stage name Taebin (), is an American singer and television host. He debuted as a member of the hip hop group 1TYM in 1998, and he released his first solo album in 2004. Im began hosting the Mnet Am ...

(born Danny Im, 1980), Korean-American singer * Im Do-hwa (born 1996), South Korean singer and actress *

Im Dong-hyun Im Dong-hyun (; ; born 12 May 1986) is a South Korean archer. He competes for the South Korean national team and is a former world number one. He has 20/200 vision in his left eye and 20/100 vision in his right eye, meaning he needs to be ...

(born 1986), South Korean archer *

Im Heung-soon Im Heung-soon (; born 1969) is a South Korean artist and filmmaker. He lives and works in Seoul. Im is an artist and filmmaker whose work focus on explored the lives of people who are marginalized in social, political, capitalist and national ...

(born 1969), South Korean artist and director *

Im Hyun-sik (singer) Lim Hyun-sik (; born March 7, 1992), simply known as Hyunsik, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and composer, and lead singer of the boy group BtoB. Biography Lim Hyun-sik was born on March 7, 1992, in Seoul, South Korea. His father, Lim ...

(born 1992), South Korean singer, member of boy band BtoB * Im Jae-hyuk (born 1994), South Korean actor *

Nana (entertainer) Im Jin-ah (; born September 14, 1991), known professionally as Nana (), is a South Korean singer, actress, and model known for her work as a former group member of the South Korean girl group After School (band), After School and its subgroups ...

(born Im Jin-ah, 1991), South Korean singer, actress, and model *

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (; born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, ...

(born 1934), South Korean film director *

Nayeon Im Na-yeon (; born September 22, 1995), known mononymously as Nayeon, is a South Korean singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, created by JYP Entertainment through the reality television show ''Sixteen ...

(born Im Na-yeon, 1995), South Korean singer, member of girl group Twice *

Im Sang-soo Im Sang-soo (; born April 27, 1962) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He has twice been invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: first for '' The Housemaid'' in 2010, and then '' The Taste of Money'' in 2 ...

(born 1962), South Korean film director * Im Se-mi (born 1987), South Korean actress * Im Si-wan (born 1988), South Korean singer and actor, member of boy band ZE:A * NC.A (born Im So-eun, 1996), South Korean singer * Im Soo-hyang (born 1990), South Korean actress *

Im Soo-jung Im Soo-jung (; born July 11, 1979) is a South Korean actress and former model. After modeling for teen magazines, Im made her acting breakthrough in Kim Jee-woon's horror film ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), followed by the popular Korean dram ...

(born 1979), South Korean actress * Im Sung-han (born 1960), South Korean television screenwriter *

Im Sung-jae Im Sung-jae (; born 30 March 1998), also known as Sungjae Im, is a South Korean professional golfer. Im won twice and was Player of the Year on the 2018 Web.com Tour. He was Rookie of the Year for the 2018–19 PGA Tour, and got his first PGA T ...

(born 1988), South Korean professional golfer * Im Won-sik (1919–2002), Korean conductor, composer, and educator *

Im Yoon-ah Im Yoon-ah (; born May 30, 1990), also known mononymously as Yoona, is a South Korean singer and actress. After training for five years, she debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-Oh!GG) in ...

(born 1990), South Korean singer and actress, member of girl group Girls' Generation * Lim Chang-yong (born 1976), South Korean baseball player * Dong-Hyek Lim (born 1984), South Korean classical pianist * Lee Do-hyun (born Lim Dong-Hyun, 1995), South Korean actor * Lim Dong-won (born 1934), retired South Korean politician * Lim Eun-ji (born 1989), South Korean pole vaulter * Lim Hyo-jun (born 1996), South Korean-born Chinese short track speed skater * Lim Hyung-joo (born 1986), South Korean operatic pop tenor and classical crossover singer * Jay B (born Lim Jae-beom, 1994), South Korean singer and actor, member of boy band Got7 * Lim Ji-yeon (born 1990), South Korean actress * Lim Jeong-hee (born 1981), South Korean singer * Lim Jeong-hyun (born 1984), South Korean guitarist *

Lim Ju-hwan Lim Ju-hwan (; born May 18, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television dramas '' Tamra, the Island'' (2009), '' Ugly Alert'' (2013), ''Uncontrollably Fond'' (2016) and ''The Bride of Habaek'' (2017) ...

(born 1982), South Korean actor *

Lim Na-young Lim Na-young (; born December 18, 1995) is a South Korean actress, singer and rapper signed under Mask Studio. She was best known for finishing tenth in Mnet's reality survival show ''Produce 101 (season 1), Produce 101''. She is a former membe ...

(born 1995), South Korean singer *

Lim Seul-ong Lim Seul-ong (; born 11 May 1987), also known by the mononym Seulong, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 2008 as a member of the K-pop boyband 2AM. He made his acting debut in 2010 in the Korean drama ''Personal Taste ...

(born 1987), South Korean singer and actor, member of boy band 2AM *

Beenzino Lim Sung-bin (; born September 12, 1987), better known by the stage name Beenzino (빈지노), is a South Korean rapper. Beenzino first gained popularity through the duo Jazzyfact, which he formed with Shimmy Twice in 2008. And he made his f ...

(born Lim Sungbin, 1987), South Korean rapper * Lim Sung-jin (born 1999), South Korea volleyball player * Lim Yo-hwan (born 1980), South Korean former professional StarCraft player * Lim Young-woong (born 1991), South Korean singer * Yunchan Lim (born 2004), South Korean pianist * Rhim Ju-yeon (born 1976), South Korean comics writer * Rim Jong-sim (born 1993), North Korean retired weightlifter * Sunhae Im (born 1976), South Korean opera soprano * Yim Bang-eun (born 1978), South Korean badminton player *

Yim Soon-rye Yim Soon-rye (; born January 1, 1961) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. She is considered one of the few leading female auteurs of Korean New Wave cinema. Career Education Born in 1961 in Incheon, Yim Soon-rye graduated from Hany ...

(born 1961), South Korean film director * Yim Sung-ah (born 1984), South Korean professional golfer

Notes

References