담양 전씨(潭陽 田氏) — The principal lineage of the Jeon (田) surname with its ancestral seat in Damyang, said to descend from Jeon Deuk-si, who was enfeoffed as Lord of Damyang under King Uijong of Goryeo.
The principal lineage of the Jeon (田) surname with its ancestral seat in Damyang, said to descend from Jeon Deuk-si, who was enfeoffed as Lord of Damyang under King Uijong of Goryeo. In the 2015 Census the 담양 전씨 clan numbered about 155,018 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 전, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 담양) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Yaeun-gong-pa, Noeeun-gong-pa, Gyeongeun-gong-pa
The Yaeun-gong branch descends from Jeon Rok-saeng (田祿生, 1318-1375), eldest son of the 7th-generation Jeon Hui-gyeong. Styled Yaeun, he served as Grand Academician of the Office of Royal Decrees and Inspector-General in late Goryeo. He is said to have impeached Yi In-im in the first year of King U and died while being sent into exile.
The late-Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar Ganjae Jeon U (田愚) is known as a descendant of this branch.
The Noeeun-gong branch descends from Jeon Gwi-saeng (田貴生), second son of Jeon Hui-gyeong. A Goryeo official, he is said to have retreated to Dumundong when Goryeo fell. Sub-branches such as the Jeongsan and Seonsan lines are mentioned.
The Gyeongeun-gong branch descends from Jeon Jo-saeng (田祖生, 1318-1355), third son of Jeon Hui-gyeong. A Goryeo official, he accompanied King Chungjeong to Ganghwa Island and is also counted among the 72 sages of Dumundong. It is described as the most populous of the three and the main line of the Damyang Jeon clan.
The independence activist Jeon Myeong-un and the translator Jeon Hye-rin are introduced as descendants of this branch.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Jeon Deuk-si(founder), Jeon Rok-saeng(Goryeo official), Jeon Jo-saeng(Goryeo official), Jeon U(Neo-Confucian scholar), Jeon Myeong-un(independence activist), Jeon Hye-rin(translator and essayist)
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The founder of the Damyang Jeon clan (潭陽 田氏) is Jeon Deuk-si (田得時). He is said to have been recommended as a worthy man under King Uijong of Goryeo, placed first in the top class of the civil examination, served as Left Assistant Minister and Participant in Governance, and was enfeoffed as Lord of Damyang, from which the seat derives. One tradition traces the surname to Chen Wan (陳完), a noble of the state of Chen who fled to Qi and received the land of Tian (田); however, the lineage in Korea before Goryeo cannot be verified, and the possibility of a native Korean origin is also noted.
With 155,018 people in the 2015 census, it ranks 45th among Korean surnames and is regarded as the largest of the Jeon (田) clans. Members live mainly in the southern provinces; Uiryeong (South Gyeongsang), Uljin and Gimcheon (North Gyeongsang), Gunsan and Buan (Jeonbuk), and Nonsan and Hongseong (Chungnam) are cited as typical clan villages.
The line is said to have passed through single heirs from the founder to the 6th-generation Jeon Hui-gyeong (田希慶), but his three sons rose to prominence and the clan flourished. The brothers were called the 'Three Hermits of the Jeon family (三隱田先生)' in late Goryeo. The Yeonan Jeon, Haeum Jeon and Pyeongtaek Jeon clans are said to have branched off from Damyang Jeon and are listed together in its grand genealogy.
The clan centres on three branches descending from the three sons of Jeon Hui-gyeong: Yaeun-gong-pa (Jeon Rok-saeng), Noeeun-gong-pa (Jeon Gwi-saeng) and Gyeongeun-gong-pa (Jeon Jo-saeng). The Gyeongeun-gong branch is described as the most populous. It is best to confirm which branch your family belongs to in the genealogy you hold.
Sources: Namuwiki, Wikipedia and other public materials. Details of branches and lineages may differ depending on the clan association and genealogy.
For other branch associations, see the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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