담양 국씨(潭陽 鞠氏) — A Guk clan with its ancestral seat in Damyang, South Jeolla, whose founder Guk Ju is said to have come from Song China and naturalized in Goryeo.
A Guk clan with its ancestral seat in Damyang, South Jeolla, whose founder Guk Ju is said to have come from Song China and naturalized in Goryeo. In the 2015 Census the 담양 국씨 clan numbered about 19,089 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 국, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 담양) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
A clear list of branches was not confirmed.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
국주(founder), 국유(loyalist), 국경례(remonstrance official), 국채표(meteorologist), 국쾌남(founder of Daehan Theater, lawmaker)
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The founder of the Damyang Guk clan (潭陽 鞠氏) is Guk Ju (鞠周). According to Wikipedia he was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in 1101 under Emperor Huizong of Song as a high court official; after the Jingkang incident of 1127 he came to Goryeo in 1128 to request reinforcements and naturalized there. Under King Injong he went as envoy to the Jin and is said to have secured a diplomatic relationship of equals against Jin demands for a lord-vassal relationship; for this he was made Count of Chuseong, and Injong is said to have assigned Damyang as his seat. These dates and deeds rest on a single source, so check your genealogy.
Damyang was Chujahye-gun under Baekje and Chuseong-gun under Silla's King Gyeongdeok, was reorganized as Damyang-gun under Hyeonjong of Goryeo and became a protectorate under Taejong of Joseon; Changpyeong-gun was merged into it in 1914.
Guk Ji-won, Guk Yeong-don and Guk Ho are recorded as holding high offices after the founder. Guk Yu, a late Goryeo minister, is said to have retreated to Dumun-dong when Goryeo fell, and Yi Seong-gye honored his loyalty by appointing his descendants to Damyang posts. Guk Gyeong-rye passed the examination in 1451, served as a remonstrance official and is said to have frankly criticized King Sejo's misrule before devoting himself to scholarship; the family flourished in the generation of his six sons.
Guk Hang-gyu is said to have planted thousands of trees with his own funds when Gwanbang Forest was rebuilt in 1854. The righteous army leader Guk Dong-wan is said by Wikipedia to have been arrested and executed in 1909 and posthumously awarded the Patriot Medal in 1991, but this was not confirmed from another source. Modern figures include meteorologist Guk Chae-pyo, second Director of the Central Meteorological Office, and Guk Kwae-nam, founder of Daehan Theater and lawmaker.
Wikipedia gives 14,872 in 1985, 15,774 in 2000, 19,089 in 2015 and 23,013 in 2024.
The 담양 국씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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