This project was started to focus on the contributions that Koreans and peoples of the Korean descent have made to society in the 20th and 21st century.

List of notable Koreans

Activists

• Kang Pan-sŏk (Korean: 강반석), independence activist against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea
• Kim Hyŏng-jik (Korean: 김형직), independence activist against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea
• Lee Hee-ho (Korean: 이희호), women's rights activist, peace advocate, and First Lady of South Korea from 25 February 1998 to 24 February 2003
• Ryu Gwan-sun (Korean: 유관순), independence activist against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea

Actors

• John Cho (Korean: 조요한), Korea-born American actor, best known for his roles in American Pie and Harold & Kumar
• Peter Chung (Korean: 정건식), Korea-born American animator, creator and director of Æon Flux
• Daniel Henney, actor and model
• Kil Yong-woo (Korean: 길용우), South Korean actor
• Daniel Dae Kim (Korean: 김대현), Korea-born American actor, best known for his role on Lost
• Kim Tae-hee (Korean: 이완), South Korean actress
• Lee Wan (Korean: 김태희), South Korean actor
• Grace Park, America-born Korean Canadian actress, best known for her role on Battlestar Galactica
• Song Hye-rim (Korean: 성혜림), North Korean actress, first mistress of Kim Jong-il

Artists

• Baek Nam-jun (Korean: 백남준), Korean-born American artist, father of video art
• Daniel Chun, Korean American writer, head writer and co-executive producer of The Office
• Yumi Hogan (Korean: 김유미), South Korean-American artist and First Lady of Maryland since January 21, 2015
• Jim Lee (Korean: 이용철), Korea-born American comic book artist, writer and editor, publisher of DC Comics

Athletes

• Choi Hong-hi (Korean: 최홍희), South Korean army general and martial artist
• Lee Bo-mee (Korean: 이보미), South Korean professional golfer
• Park Tae-hwan (Korean: 박태환), South Korean competitive swimmer
• Son Heung-min (Korean: 손흥민), South Korean professional footballer
• Michelle Wie (Korean: 위성미), Korean American professional golfer

Businesspeople

• David Sung Yeul Chang, American celebrity chef, restauranteur, author, podcaster, and television personality.
• Chung Eui-sun (Korean: 정의선), chairman of Hyundai Motor Group
• Chung Ju-yung (Korean: 정주영), founder of Hyundai Group
• Chung Mong-koo, chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor Group
• Chung Se-yung (Korean: 정세영), founder of Hyundai Motor
• Jeong H. Kim (Korean: 김종훈), Korea-born American electrical engineer, President of Bell Labs
• Kim Keon-hee (Korean: 김건희), chief executive officer and president of the art exhibition company Covana Contents, and First Lady of South Korea since 10 May 2022
• Lee Byung-Chul (Korean: 병철)Former Chairman and Founder of Samsung Group
• Lee Kun-Hee (Korean: 이건희)Former Chairman of Samsung Group
• Jay Y Lee (Korean: 이재용) Executive Chairman of Samsung Group

Comedians

• Margaret Cho, a Korean American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist.

Filmmakers

• Bong Joon-ho (Korean: 봉준호), South Korean film director and screenwriter

Historians

• Shin Jae-ho (Korean: 신재호), founder of the nationalist historiography of Korea

Musicians

• Kyung-wha Chung (Korean: 정경화), world-renowned violinist
• Myung-wha Chung (Korean: 정명화), world-renowned cellist
• Myung-whun Chung (Korean: 정명훈), world-renowned pianist and conductor

Politicians

• Ahn Chang-ho (Korean: 안창호), Korean independence activist, early leader of Korean-American Immagrant community of the United States
• Ahn Jung-guen (Korean: 안중근), political activist during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea, assassinator of Itō Hirobumi
• Ban Ki-moon (Korean: 반기문), 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Choi Sang-mok (Korean: 최상목), South Korean politician who served as the acting president and acting prime minister of South Korea from 2024.
• Choi Yong-gon (Korean: 최용건), 2nd Head of State of North Korea
• Herbert Choi (Korean: 최영조), former U.S. Federal Judge
• Chung Mong-joon (Korean: 정몽준), member of the National Assembly
• Han Duck-soo, Korean diplomat, economist, and politician.
• Hong Beom-do (Korean: 홍범도), political activist & patriotic soldier during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea
• Kim Dae-jung (Korean: 김대중), 15th President of the Republic of Korea
• Kim Du-bong (Korean: 김두봉), 1st Head of State of North Korea
• Kim Gu (Korean: 김구), political Activist during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea, leader during the Korean Independence Movement (1913)
• Kim Il-sung (Korean: 김일성), 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea, 3rd Head of State of North Korea
• Kim Jwa-jin (Korean: 김좌진), Korean independence activist, general of the Korean independence army
• Kim Jong-il (Korean: 김정일), 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea, 4th Head of State of North Korea
• Kim Jong-un (Korean: 김정은), 3rd Supreme Leader of North Korea, 5th Head of State of North Korea
• Kim Young-sam (Korean: 김영삼), 7th President of the Republic of Korea
• Kim Won-bong (Korean: 김원봉), Korean anarchist, independence activist & statesman of North Korea
• Kim Yo-jong (Korean: 김여정), younger sister of Kim Jong-un
• Lee Myung-bak (Korean: 이명박), 10th President of the Republic of Korea
• Lee Sang-deuk, member of the conservative Saenuri Party in the National Assembly
• Lee Syung-man (Korean: 이승만), 1st President of the Republic of Korea
• Lee Shi-yeong (Korean: 이시영), 1st Vice President of the Republic of Korea
• Lee Wan-yong (Korean: 이완용), pro-Japanese minister during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea, traitor (Korean: 매국노) of Korea
• Lee Beom-Seok, 1st Prime Minister of South Korea
• Lee Bong-chang (Korean: 이봉창), political activist during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea, failed assasinator of later-Emperor Hirohito
• Moon Jae-in (Korean: 문재인), 12th President of the Republic of Korea
• Ronald Moon, former Chief Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court
• Park Chung-hee (Korean: 박정희), 3rd President of the Republic of Korea
• Park Eun-Shik (Korean: 박은식), Korean historian, 2nd President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
• Park Hon-yong (Korean: 박헌영), Communist politician of North Korea, criminal for starting the Korean War
• Syngman Rhee, 1st President of the Republic of Korea
• Roh Moo-hyun (Korean: 노무현), 8th President of the Republic of Korea
• Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea (Korean: 윤석열), 13th President of the Republic of Korea
• Yun Bong-gil (Korean: 윤봉길), political activist during the Japanese Colonial Rule of Korea, assassinator of the Shanghai International Settlement (1932)

Scholars

• Jaegwon Kim (Korean: 김재권), Korea-born American philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at Brown University
• Jim Yong Kim (Korean: 김용), Korea-born American physician, 17th President of Dartmouth College
• Kim Ung-yong (Korean: 김웅용), South Korean professor and former child prodigy
• Kim Yoon-ok (Korean: 김윤옥), First Lady of South Korea from 25 February 2008 to 24 February 2013
• Kwang Lim Koh (Korean: 고광림), South Korean diplomat and political science professor
• Yoon Ki Jung (Korean: 윤기중), South Korean economist and professor

Scientists

• Mark L. Polansky, American of Korean descent aerospace engineer and research pilot, NASA astronaut

Singers

• Jeon So-mi (Korean: 전소미), Korean-Canadian singer
• Jonghyun (Korean: 김종현), singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host
• Kim Jung-sook (Korean: 김정숙), classical singer, First Lady of South Korea from 10 May 2017 to 9 May 2022
• Koo Jun-yup (Korean: 구준엽), singer, songwriter and DJ
• Rain (Korean: 정지훈), singer, actor, dancer, model and designer
• Rosé (Korean: 박채영), New Zealand-Korean singer from Blackpink

Writers

• Han Kang (Korean: 한강). In 2024 Han was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Others

• Kim Man-il (Korean: 김만일), son of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-suk
• Ko Yong-hui (Korean: 고용희), second mistress of Kim Jong-il
• Ri Sol-ju (Korean: 리설주), First Lady of North Korea since 15 April 2018
• Kim Bo-hyon (Korean: 김형직), paternal grandfather of Kim Il-sung