 45% of Korean people bear the family name Kim, Lee, or Park Kim, Gim Lee, Yi, Rhee Park, Pak Choi Jung, Jeong, Chung, Cheong There are roughly 160 clans of Chois.[citation needed] Most of these are quite small. However, Choi is the 4th most common surname in Korea. The largest by far is the Gyeongju Choi clan, with a 2000 South Korean population of 976,820. The Gyeongju Choe claim the Silla scholar Choe Chi-won as their founder.[1] [edit] Etymology The character Choi (崔) is derived from the combination of 2 ancient Chinese characters: - 山 symbolizes the mountains.
- 隹 is a phonetic component pronounced 추 (chu) in Korean and zhui in Mandarin. 崔 is pronounced cui in Mandarin. The pronunciations of the two characters are even more similar in Cantonese, where 隹 is pronounced jeui and 崔 is pronounced cheui.
Choi means a governor, who oversees the land and the mountain. The surname Choi also means high, superior, lofty or towering. It should not be confused with "choi" in the pak choi food, which is of Chinese origin and of a different meaning. [edit] List of people with the surname Choi - Choi Cheol-han, South Korean professional Go player
- Choi Dong-Wook, Real name of korean singer, Se7en.
- Choi Sung-Kuk
- Choe Chiwon, a scholar of the Silla period
- Choi Chol-Su, North Korean boxer
- Choe Chung-heon, military dictator of the Goryeo period
- Choi Eun-hee, South Korean actress once abducted to the North
- Choi Eun-Kyung, South Korean speedskater
- Choi Geesung, high-ranking Samsung executive
- Choi Han, South Korean voice actor
- Choi Hee-seop, a South Korean baseball player
- Choi Hong Hi, South Korean general considered the principal founder of taekwondo
- Choi Hong-man, South Korean kickboxer
- Choi Jeong-yoon, South Korean actress
- Choi Ji Woo (b. 1975), South Korean actress and model
- Choi Jin-Cheul, a K-League footballer
- Choe Jun (1884-1970), businessman and philanthropist
- Choi Kwang Jo Creator of Choi Kwang Do
- Choi Kenny Korean-American Indie-Rock singer
- Choi Kyoung-hwan, a South Korean politician
- Choi Kyung-Ju (b. 1970), professional golfer more commonly known in Western countries as K.J. Choi
- Choi Kyu-hah (1919-2006), transitional President of South Korea following the assassination of Park Chung-hee
- Choe Manri, an early critic of hangul
- Choi Minho, South Korean singer of SHINee
- Choi Min-ho, South Korean judoka
- Choi Min-sik, South Korean actor
- Choi Min Hwan, South Korea singer [drummer] of FT Island
- Choe Mu-seon, a 14th-century Korean inventor
- Choe Myong-ho, North Korean football player
- Choi Myung-Hoon (b. 1975), South Korean professional Go player
- Choe Nam-seon (1890-1957), Korean historian and independence activist
- Choi Sang Ki, South Korean voice actor
- Choe Sejin, a 15th-century linguist
- Choi Seong Woo, South Korean voice actor
- Choi Seung Hyun,Real name of rapper from South Korean boy group Big Bang,stage name TOP
- Choi Siwon, K-pop singer/actor from boyband Super Junior
- Choi Soo Jin, South Korean voice actor
- Choi Sooyoung, K-pop singer/actor from girl group Girls' Generation
- Steven Choi, American politician
- Choi Sung-Hee, K-pop singer known as "Bada."
- Choi Sung-Kuk, K-League footballer
- Choi Sung-Yong, K-League footballer
- Choi Tae-Uk, J-League footballer
- Choe U (d. 1249), military dictator of the Goryeo period
- Choi Won Hyeong, South Korean voice actor
- Choi Won-Kwon, K-league footballer
- Choi Yang-il a.k.a. Yoichi Sai, film director
- Choi Yeon-Sung, professional StarCraft player
- Choe Yeong, military leader of late Goryeo
- Choe Yeong-ui, founder of Kyokushin karate, better known as Masutatsu Oyama
- Choi Yong-kun (1903-1972), high-ranking North Korean official
- Choi Yong-Soo, J-League footballer
- Choi Yong Sul, founder of hapkido
- Choi Char-Char, Famous Asian Farter
- Anita Tsoy, Russian pop singer
- Evgeniy Tsoy, Uzbekistani competitor in taekwondo at the 2006 Asian Games
- Viktor Tsoi, Russian rock musician
- Cui Jian, Chinese rock musician
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