1) Korea
Korea has a reputation in the genealogy community for being the most developed country in terms of genealogy research and is even counted as one of the countries of origin of genealogical record keeping. Therefore many countries around the world take an interest in researching Korean genealogy.

Currently many varieties of genealogical records are held in the genealogy materials room of the Central National Library for the public to peruse, and the Genealogy Library in Daejeon has also been recently opened to the public.

As many genealogical records were writtenusing Chinese characters, it is difficult for the average Korean to access them. Therefore we are currently in the process of converting these records into Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and we are putting everything we have into the digitalization and preservation of these records.

We are also forming a society of scholars with varying interests, all dedicated to genealogical research and pursuing further knowledge in the field. They are also undertaking the task of restructuring genealogy for those who cannot read classical Chinese and making the records practical to read in a lively manner.

2) The Rest of the World
Most people think that genealogy is something only found in Korea and a select few countries in the Far East, but the truth is most nations in the world have genealogical records in one form or another. Many countries have a genealogy council, and several countries also have libraries that specialize in genealogy research.

American genealogy research libraries convert records into microfilm for easy preservation. The Genealogy Council in the United States was formed 80 years ago, and genealogists from around the world gather at seminars every year to share research and ideas. Harvard University has taken a special interest in Korean genealogy research and is preserving collected records by film.

In several universities located in the state of Utah, genealogy is taught as a subject of its own, and students learn how to read and write pedigree charts. In several prominent universities, academies, and libraries in Japan, China, Vietnam, and other Asian countries, genealogical records are kept and preserved. Even France has a Far East Institute that works with genealogy.

The name used for genealogy varies among different countries. What the Koreans call Jokbo (族譜, 족보), the Chinese refer to as Zong'pu (宗譜, 종보). In Japan, records were kept only for the upper echelons of society and are referred to as Keizu (系圖, 계도). The same ideas are expressed in the west as "Family Trees" or "Family Genealogies."

In societies without prevalent genealogical records, movements are rising in which people seek to establish ties with their long lost ancestors. In several European countries, nationalistic movements have arisen in which people seek to trace their bloodlines and cultural roots despite centuries of mixed marriages.