초계 변씨 family tree

초계 변씨(草溪 卞氏) — Regarded as the principal line of the Byeon clan whose ancestral seat is Chogye.

About the 초계 변씨 clan

Regarded as the principal line of the Byeon clan whose ancestral seat is Chogye. In the 2015 Census the 초계 변씨 clan numbered about 53,860 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 변, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 초계) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.

Roots and history of the Chogye Byeon clan

Founder and origin of the clan seat

The Chogye Byeon take as their founder Byeon Jeong-sil (卞庭實), who is said to have passed the civil examination under King Seongjong of Goryeo, served as munha sijung (chancellor) and been made Prince Palgye (八溪君). Some records name Byeon Won (卞源), said to have come from Tang China to Silla, as a distant ancestor, but the generations after him are lost, so the documented line begins with Byeon Jeong-sil.

The ancestral seat, Chogye, is the area around today's Chogye-myeon in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang. Called Chopalhye-hyeon (草八兮縣) under Silla, it was renamed Palgye (八溪) under King Gyeongdeok as a county subordinate to Gangyang (today's Hapcheon), and took the name Chogye in 940. Raised to a commandery under King Chungsuk of Goryeo, it remained Chogye-gun until the end of Joseon and was merged into Hapcheon as Chogye-myeon in 1914. The founder's title, Prince Palgye, comes from the town's old name.

The clan through history

From Byeon Jeong-sil's three sons came the three trunks of the clan: the Jang-pa of the eldest, Byeon Gwang; the Jung-pa of the second, Byeon Yo; and the Gye-pa of the third, Byeon Hwi. In the Jung-pa line Byeon Yo's grandson Byeon Go-jeok settled in Miryang and founded the Miryang Byeon as a separate seat; the late-Goryeo and early-Joseon writer Byeon Gye-ryang descends from him. The two seats are therefore regarded as one family by origin. Censuses sometimes count a separate 'Palgye Byeon', but since Palgye is the old name of Chogye it is seen as the same line; together the Chogye, Palgye and Miryang Byeon numbered about 76,000 in 2015.

The Jang-pa line produced a series of notable figures in late Goryeo and early Joseon. Byeon Bin (卞贇) is counted among the 'Seventy-two Worthies of Dumundong' who withdrew to Dumundong rather than serve Joseon; his grandson Byeon Hyo-mun took part under King Sejong, with Choe Chi-un of the Gangneung Choe and others, in compiling the forensic manual Sinju murwollok and setting the Orye uiju ritual code, and went to Japan as an envoy in 1443. Byeon Hyo-mun's great-grandson Byeon Hyeong-ryang, a disciple of Kim Jong-jik, died in the Gapja purge of 1504.

During the Imjin War, Byeon Yeon-su and his son Byeon Rip raised a volunteer force in their hometown, fought under Yi Sun-sin and died together at Danghangpo. Yi Sun-sin's own mother was also a Chogye Byeon, the daughter of Byeon Su-rim (卞守琳). In modern times the clan produced the lawyer and classical scholar Byeon Yeong-man, the foreign minister and prime minister Pyun Yung-tai (Byeon Yeong-tae), and the poet Byeon Yeong-ro, known as brothers, sons of the county magistrate Byeon Jeong-sang.

Today the Chogye Byeon live around their seat in Chogye, Hapcheon, and across South and North Gyeongsang, Cheongju and Goesan in North Chungcheong, and Gyeonggi; the clan numbered about 54,000 in 2015.

Notable figures

• Byeon Jeong-sil (卞庭實) — Founder of the clan, said to have been chancellor under King Seongjong of Goryeo and Prince Palgye.
• Byeon Gwang (卞光) — Eldest son of Byeon Jeong-sil and founder of the Jang-pa.
• Byeon Bin (卞贇) — Counted among the Seventy-two Worthies of Dumundong who gave up office when Goryeo fell; enshrined at Seonggusa in Changwon.
• Byeon Hyo-mun (卞孝文, 1396-?) — Passed the civil examination in 1414 and served in posts including magistrate of Jeonju; he helped compile Sinju murwollok and went to Japan as an envoy in 1443.
• Byeon Hyeong-ryang (卞亨良, ?-1504) — A disciple of Kim Jong-jik who passed the civil examination in 1501 and entered the Office of Special Advisors, but was falsely accused and killed in the Gapja purge.
• Byeon Gye-ryang (卞季良, 1369-1430) — Pen name Chunjeong. Of the Miryang Byeon line that branched from the Jung-pa, he served Kings Taejong and Sejong as Minister of Rites and Director of the Office of Special Advisors and drafted diplomatic documents for nearly twenty years; author of Chunjeongjip.
• Byeon Yeon-su (卞延壽) — Raised a volunteer force in the Imjin War, joined Yi Sun-sin's command and was killed at Danghangpo.
• Byeon Rip (卞岦) — Son of Byeon Yeon-su, who died beside his father in the battle of Danghangpo.
• Byeon Yeong-man (卞榮晩, 1889-1954) — Lawyer and classical scholar under Japanese rule; after liberation a judge of the Special Committee for Investigating Anti-National Acts and a professor at Sungkyunkwan University.
• Pyun Yung-tai (卞榮泰, 1892-1969) — As foreign minister he signed the 1953 Korea-US Mutual Defense Treaty, and in 1954 he became the 5th Prime Minister.
• Byeon Yeong-ro (卞榮魯, 1898-1961) — Pen name Suju. Poet known for "Nongae" and scholar of English literature; first president of the Korean PEN Club in 1955.

Clan lands and heritage sites

• The seat at Chogye — Many Chogye Byeon still live around Chogye-myeon, Hapcheon, mostly descendants of the Gye-pa (Byeon Hwi). The large clan villages in Cheongju and Goesan, North Chungcheong, are said to have been formed by descendants of the Jang-pa (Byeon Gwang).
• Seonggusa Shrine (誠久祠), Changwon — A clan shrine in Jinjeon-myeon, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang, honoring three men: Byeon Bin of the Dumundong worthies, and Byeon Yeon-su and Byeon Rip, who died in the Imjin War. The grounds include the Dosan Seodang hall and a ritual hall, and a separate Samgangnyeo gate honors the loyalty, filial piety and fidelity of the father, son and the son's wife, Lady Kim of Andong.
• Other sites — Yi Sun-sin's mother, Lady Byeon of Chogye, died in 1597 aboard a boat while travelling north to see her son during his demotion; memorial rites for her are held at Gebawi in Inju-myeon, Asan, South Chungcheong, where the boat landed. The poet Byeon Yeong-ro is commemorated in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, through the Suju Literary Award and other honors.

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

Main branches (派)

Jang-pa, Jung-pa, Gye-pa

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

Notable figures

변정실(founder of the Chogye Byeon clan), 변광(founder of the Jang-pa), 변빈(one of the Dumundong worthies), 변효문(envoy to Japan and compiler of Sinju murwollok), 변형량(disciple of Kim Jong-jik; Gapja purge), 변계량(Chunjeong; Director of the Office of Special Advisors), 변연수(died at Danghangpo in the Imjin War), 변립(son of Byeon Yeon-su; died at Danghangpo), 변영만(lawyer and classical scholar), 변영태(5th Prime Minister), 변영로(Suju; poet)

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

How to build your 초계 변씨 tree

1. Start with yourself — sign in to get your own tree. Enter your name, birth year and clan seat (초계).
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

초계 변씨 clan association

🔗 초계변씨대종회

For other branch associations, see the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.