Jokbo
Encyclopedia
The jokbo or chokbo is a Korean genealogical record equivalent to the family tree
. Each family has one jokbo which has been passed down through numerous generations, though copies are often printed and distributed among family members as necessary. The firstborn son of each family (in a form of primogeniture
takes the actual jokbo (as opposed to the copies) with him and continues the genealogy and family line. It was often used in pre-modern (i.e. pre-Japanese occupation) Korea
as proof of being of the yangban
class (the Korean equivalent of the European gentry or nobility; it is best equated to an aristocracy).
While many clans still maintain jokbos, their function (which was very important, heavily relied-upon, and legally binding before the modern era) is largely relegated to clan record-keeping and other minor (i.e. not legally binding) social roles, as modern democracies such as South Korea do not determine or stratify social classes in such a manner.
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
. Each family has one jokbo which has been passed down through numerous generations, though copies are often printed and distributed among family members as necessary. The firstborn son of each family (in a form of primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
takes the actual jokbo (as opposed to the copies) with him and continues the genealogy and family line. It was often used in pre-modern (i.e. pre-Japanese occupation) Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
as proof of being of the yangban
Yangban
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who...
class (the Korean equivalent of the European gentry or nobility; it is best equated to an aristocracy).
While many clans still maintain jokbos, their function (which was very important, heavily relied-upon, and legally binding before the modern era) is largely relegated to clan record-keeping and other minor (i.e. not legally binding) social roles, as modern democracies such as South Korea do not determine or stratify social classes in such a manner.