부여 서씨 family tree

부여 서씨(扶餘 徐氏) — A Seo clan with its seat in Buyeo, South Chungcheong, honoring Buyeo Yung, son of King Uija of Baekje, as founder; known figures include Joseon Minister of Military Affairs Seo Pil-won and Uiju magistrate Seo Ik.

About the 부여 서씨 clan

A Seo clan with its seat in Buyeo, South Chungcheong, honoring Buyeo Yung, son of King Uija of Baekje, as founder; known figures include Joseon Minister of Military Affairs Seo Pil-won and Uiju magistrate Seo Ik. In the 2015 Census the 부여 서씨 clan numbered about 17,145 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 서, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 부여) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.

Roots and Seat

The Buyeo Seo (扶餘 徐氏) is a branch of the Seo surname whose seat is Buyeo County, South Chungcheong. The 2015 census counted 17,145 members, a small seat compared with the Icheon, Dalseong or Daegu Seo. The founder is Prince Buyeo Yung (扶餘隆), said to be a son of King Uija, the last king of Baekje, and the register names King Onjo, founder of Baekje, as the ancestor of origin.

Buyeo Yung and the Surname Grant

When Baekje fell to the Silla-Tang forces in 660, King Uija, royals, officials and some 10,000 people were taken to Luoyang. The register says Emperor Gaozong gave Uija a high rank and granted Yung the surname Seo before sending him home. This is a tradition found in the 1760 comprehensive register; scholars say no Chinese source records a surname change, an excavated epitaph is explained as keeping the name Buyeo, while others find it plausible that royals changed names after the fall to hide their identity, so sources differ. Yung himself ruled Baekje survivors as Tang Governor of Ungjin and is judged variously.

Seo Jon and the Generations

The generations after Yung are unclear. The register honors Seo Jon (徐存), a Goryeo minister of military affairs enfeoffed as Lord Taewon and described as a distant descendant of Seo Yung, as first-generation ancestor; his 11th-generation descendant is Seo Su-son. The generations between Yung and Seo Jon are therefore undocumented, a limitation similar to the founding traditions of other Seo seats.

Relation to the Icheon Seo

The preface of the Daegu Seo register says the Seo split into seats including Icheon, Dalseong, Daegu, Jangseong, Yeonsan, Nampyeong, Buyeo, Pyeongdang, Namyang and Dangseong. The 1763 Icheon Seo register treated the Buyeo line's origin as King Onjo, but Korean Wikipedia says a connection to the Icheon Seo has been ruled out and the seats differ, while some English sources classify the Buyeo as a branch of the Icheon, so accounts disagree. Compare the Icheon, Daegu and Dalseong Seo pages.

Joseon-Era Figures

Only four civil-examination graduates in Joseon are recorded. Under Seonjo, Seo Ik (1542-1587), who topped the provincial exam at 13 and passed the 1569 special exam, became Magistrate of Uiju; in 1585 he memorialized in defense of Yi I, Jeong Cheol and Bak Sun and was impeached by the Easterners. He left the Manjukheon-jip and two sijo and is enshrined at Haenglim Seowon in Yukgok-ri, Nonsan. His great-grandson Seo Pil-won (1614-1671) supported the Daedongbeop as governor of Jeolla and rose to Minister of Military Affairs, called one of the 'five upright'. Seo Yang-gap, recorded as Seo Ik's illegitimate son, was one of the Seven Friends by the River whose false testimony after arrest for killing a silver merchant started the 1613 Gyechuk affair.

Modern Figures

Seo Seong (b. 1942), who ranked first in the first bar exam and became a Supreme Court justice, and Seo Seung-jin (b. 1953), the 24th Commissioner of the Korea Forest Service, are listed on Wikipedia as Buyeo Seo. Its list also names others such as Seo Ho-gap and Seo Myeong-won, but their seats could not be cross-checked against separate sources here. A living entertainer is also named there but is not included here, to protect personal information.

Main branches (派)

Branch names and founders were not confirmed in this research.

Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.

Notable figures

부여융(traditional founder, Baekje prince and Governor of Ungjin), 서익(Magistrate of Uiju and author of the Manjukheon-jip), 서필원(Minister of Military Affairs who backed the Daedongbeop), 서양갑(illegitimate-born writer of the Seven Friends), 서성(first bar-exam topper and Supreme Court justice), 서승진(24th Commissioner of the Korea Forest Service)

Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).

Clan Villages

Listed villages are in Gayagok-myeon, Nonsan (clan ritual halls at Samjeon-ri, Gangcheong-ri, Ganeunjakgol and Duwol-ri, and Haenglim Seowon at Yukgok-ri) and Gwangseok-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju in Gyeonggi; South Pyeongan's Gaecheon is also mentioned. Although the seat is Buyeo, actual settlement centered on the Nonsan area, and the series of moves for Seo Ik's shrine (Galsan, Hyoam, Haenglim) shows the tie.

Baekje Heritage

The founding tradition ties the clan to Sabi, the last Baekje capital and today's Buyeo. Sites such as Nakhwaam on Busosanseong and the five-story pagoda of the Jeongnimsa temple site are not directly linked to Yung but show the setting of his age. The photos below are of Baekje sites in Buyeo, not portraits.

What Could Not Be Confirmed

Branch names and founders, the official name and contacts of a clan association, and generation-name characters could not be confirmed from reliable sources and are left out. The figure of 17,145 is the 2015 census value. Generations after Seo Jon and the mid-founder should be supplemented from registers and clan sources.

Telling Them Apart From Other Seo Clans

The Seo surname has many seats and people are often mixed up. There is a Seo Seong of the Daegu Seo and a separate Seo Seong of the Buyeo Seo, and Seo Gyeong-deok belongs to the Dangseong Seo, not the Buyeo. Do not confuse Goryeo notables of the Icheon Seo such as Seo Hui and Seo Pil with the Joseon Seo Pil-won of the Buyeo Seo. Even for people introduced as Buyeo Seo it is safest to recheck the seat in their Wikipedia article classification and the register. Every person here is shown with the Buyeo seat in a separate Wikipedia article, except Buyeo Yung, who is the traditional founder.

How to build your 부여 서씨 tree

1. Start with yourself — sign in to get your own tree. Enter your name, birth year and clan seat (부여).
2. Add older generations — add parents and grandparents. For accuracy see tracing ancestors with jejeok records (usually to about 5 generations).
3. Link siblings & children — sort by generational name (hangnyeol) to see each generation at a glance.
4. Export & share — save the finished tree as a PDF and invite family to manage it together.

Related reading

부여 서씨 clan association

The 부여 서씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.