덕수 이씨(德水 李氏) — An ancestral seat that produced Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin and Yulgok Yi I; its founder is said to be Yi Don-su, a Goryeo military official.
An ancestral seat that produced Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin and Yulgok Yi I; its founder is said to be Yi Don-su, a Goryeo military official. In the 2015 Census the 덕수 이씨 clan numbered about 58,513 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 이, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 덕수) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Munseong-gong-pa, Chungmu-gong-pa, Champan-gong-pa, Yulli-gong-pa, Yongjae-gong-pa, Munjeong-gong-pa, Munhye-gong-pa, Oksan-gong-pa
The Munseong-gong branch descends from Yi I (李珥, 1536-1584, pen name Yulgok), the mid-Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar. He was the 13th-generation descendant in the Deoksu Yi line; his posthumous name was Munseong (文成), and he was enshrined both in the Confucian shrine and in a royal ancestral shrine.
A distinctive feature of the Deoksu Yi clan is that both scholar-official and military lines flourished from mid-Joseon onward, and the Munseong-gong branch is regarded as representative of the scholarly line.
The Chungmu-gong branch descends from Admiral Yi Sun-sin (李舜臣, 1545-1598, posthumous name Chungmu), the great commander of the Imjin War. The 12th-generation descendant in the Deoksu Yi line and third son of Yi Jeong (李貞), he was enrolled as a seonmu merit subject, posthumously ennobled as Prince Deokpung, and posthumously promoted to chief state councillor.
The branch is said to have produced many military examination passers and naval commanders of the three southern provinces (samdo sugun tongjesa).
The Champan-gong branch descends from Yi Hui-sin (李羲臣, 1535-1587), eldest brother of Yi Sun-sin. A 12th-generation descendant, he was enrolled as a third-rank seonmu auxiliary merit subject and posthumously named vice-minister of war.
All four of his sons were enrolled as auxiliary merit subjects; the fourth, Yi Wan (李莞), died as governor of Uiju in the 1627 Manchu invasion and received the posthumous name Gangmin (剛愍). His descendants settled around Gogi-dong, Suji, in Yongin.
The Yulli-gong branch descends from Yi Yo-sin (李堯臣, 1542-1580, pen name Yulli), second elder brother of Yi Sun-sin. A 12th-generation descendant, he studied under Yi Hwang (Toegye) and was a close friend of Ryu Seong-ryong.
Although he died young, he was enrolled as a third-rank seonmu auxiliary merit subject and posthumously named vice-minister of revenue.
The Yongjae-gong branch descends from Yi Haeng (李荇, 1478-1534, pen name Yongjae), a mid-Joseon official and poet. The son of Yi Ui-mu (李宜茂), he was exiled under Yeonsangun for opposing the posthumous restoration of the deposed Queen Yun, but returned to office under King Jungjong and became left state councillor.
He excelled in poetry, calligraphy and painting; his posthumous name, originally Munjeong (文定), was later changed to Munheon (文獻). His great-grandson Yi An-nul and great-great-grandson Yi Sik founded the Munhye-gong and Munjeong-gong branches.
The Munjeong-gong branch descends from Yi Sik (李植, 1584-1647, pen name Taekdang), a mid-Joseon official and great-great-grandson of left state councillor Yi Haeng. He served as inspector-general, minister of punishments and minister of rites, and was responsible for revising the Annals of King Seonjo.
He is counted with Sin Heum, Yi Jeong-gu and Jang Yu among the four great prose masters of mid-Joseon; his posthumous name was Munjeong (文靖), and he was posthumously named chief state councillor in 1686.
The Munhye-gong branch descends from Yi An-nul (李安訥, 1571-1637, pen name Dongak), a mid-Joseon official and poet and great-grandson of Yi Haeng. He withdrew from office in protest at Gwanghaegun's rule, then returned after the 1623 Injo Restoration and served as vice-minister of rites and of punishments.
He was posthumously named left associate state councillor (jwachanseong) and chief scholar; his posthumous name was Munhye (文惠), and he is enshrined at Gusan Seowon in Damyang.
The Oksan-gong branch descends from Yi U (李瑀, 1542-1609, pen name Oksan), younger brother of Yi I (Yulgok). He passed the licentiate examination under King Myeongjong and served as magistrate of Bian, Goesan and Gobu before becoming director of the Military Provisions Office.
Inheriting the artistic talent of his mother Sin Saimdang, he was called a master of the 'four perfections': poetry, calligraphy, painting and the geomungo.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Yi Don-su(founder of the Deoksu Yi clan), Yi Sun-sin(Joseon military official, Chungmugong), Yi I(Neo-Confucian scholar, styled Yulgok)
Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).
덕수 이씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.
덕수 이씨 figures listed by the Presidential Committee or the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators (Minjok Munje Institute).
The Deoksu Yi clan (德水 李氏) takes as its ancestral seat the Deoksu (德水) region of Gaeseong. Its founder is said to be Yi Don-su (李敦守), who served as Jungnangjang (a military office) during the reign of King Gojong of Goryeo. When his fourth-generation descendant Yi Yun-un was posthumously enfeoffed as Lord of Deoksu, his descendants took Deoksu as their ancestral seat. In the 2015 Statistics Korea census the clan numbered about 58,513 people.
Although there are several branches, the most widely known are the Munseong-gong branch (文成公派), whose founding ancestor is the 13th-generation descendant Yulgok Yi I, and the Chungmu-gong branch (忠武公派), whose founding ancestor is the 12th-generation descendant Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin. Owing to Yi Sun-sin's influence, the Chungmu-gong branch established itself as a distinguished family of military officials after the Imjin War, producing 267 successful candidates in the military examination and 13 Naval Commanders of the Three Provinces (三道水軍統制使) over the generations; its head household is the old Yi Sun-sin residence near Hyeonchungsa Shrine in Asan. The Munseong-gong branch continued around Haeju in Hwanghae Province, where Yulgok's ancestral home stood, and after the national division a small number of descendants who fled south remain in South Korea.
The Deoksu Yi clan produced 105 successful candidates in the civil service examination, 7 State Councillors (Prime Ministers), 5 Grand Scholars (大提學), 4 merit subjects, and 2 incorruptible officials (淸白吏) during the Joseon period. In particular, 7 State Councillors and 4 Grand Scholars came from the Yeonheon-gong branch (蓮軒公派), and 1 Grand Scholar was Yulgok Yi I of the Munseong-gong branch. Remarkably, more than half of the figures on South Korean currency come from this family: Yi Sun-sin on the 100-won coin, Yulgok Yi I on the 5,000-won note, and Shin Saimdang (Yi I's mother) on the 50,000-won note are all of the Deoksu Yi clan.
The detailed branches and lineage (世系) vary by clan and genealogy, so please check your own family history in the genealogical record you hold.
The 덕수 이씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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