明
명씨
밝을 명 · bright / clear
📖 Origin of the Hanja
Korean Myung descends from Myung Bin (明賓), who naturalized from Song China during the reign of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo. Yeonan (modern Hwanghae) is the single ancestral seat. The hanja "明" depicts the sun (日) and moon (月) — two sources of light, the brightest possible. The Great Learning opens with: "The way of the Great Learning lies in illuminating bright virtue (明德)." The first character of East Asian scholarship is 明 itself.
🏯 Main Clans (Bongwan)
연안 명씨
서촉 명씨
※ Bongwan refers to the ancestral home where the founder settled. Same surname, different bongwan = different clan branch.
🌟 Famous Figures
조선
명수안
학자, 연안 명씨 후예
근현대
명동신
독립운동가
현대
명세빈
배우
""明" — where sun and moon meet. The brightest is not a single light but the meeting of two."
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