충주 최씨(忠州 崔氏) — A Choe seat that traces to Choe Seung of late Silla and took root in Chungju in Goryeo; its leading figure is Choe U-cheong of the Goryeosa.
A Choe seat that traces to Choe Seung of late Silla and took root in Chungju in Goryeo; its leading figure is Choe U-cheong of the Goryeosa. In the 2015 Census the 충주 최씨 clan numbered about 15,705 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 최, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 충주) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
The Chungju Choe clan (忠州 崔氏) takes Chungju in North Chungcheong Province as its seat. Its founder is Choe Seung (崔陞), said to have come from China, become a military commander in 846 under King Munseong of Silla to suppress bandits, and in 889 to have quelled the revolt of Wonjong and Aeno, rising to the rank of Eungcheong Gwangnok Daebu. These accounts rest on later genealogies; sources describe him either as a late-Silla figure or as Tang-born, so the exact history is uncertain.
The family is described as a branch of the Cheongha Choe of China, with Jiang Taigong (of the Gang lineage) as the remote ancestor. It is said to have taken root in Chungju during Goryeo and adopted it as its seat; Choe Gong-ui (崔公義) is presented as the middle founder. The genealogy Chungju Choe Sebo was published in 1918, and the shrine Yeongmosa honoring the founder and others was built in 1922.
Little published branch information (middle founder Choe Gong-ui)
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
최승(said to be the founder), 최우청(Goryeo Minister of the Left under Myeongjong)
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The leading figure is Choe U-cheong, a Chungju local-clerk descendant who passed the civil examination under King Injong; the Goryeosa records that he helped suppress Jo Wi-chong's rebellion under Myeongjong and retired as Minister of the Left.
The 2015 census is reported at about 15,700 members, and the 2000 census at 13,466. The Choe surname overall had about 2.33 million in 2015, ranking fourth.
As a small seat it has little published branch or personnel information. Choe U-cheong is the only person whose clan affiliation could be cross-checked here, and care should be taken not to confuse it with other surnames using Chungju as seat (Chungju Ji, Chungju Park).
The 충주 최씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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