동래 정씨(東萊 鄭氏) — Said to be a representative distinguished Jeong house that produced several State Councillors during the Joseon period.
Said to be a representative distinguished Jeong house that produced several State Councillors during the Joseon period. In the 2015 Census the 동래 정씨 clan numbered about 474,506 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 정, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 동래) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Gyoseorang-gong-pa, Cheomsa-gong-pa, Hojang-gong-pa
The Gyoseorang-gong branch descends from Jeong Bo (鄭輔), of the sixth generation counted from the clan's first recorded ancestor Jeong Ji-won (鄭之遠). It contains several sub-branches, including the Jeonseo-gong, Seolhakjae-gong and Chamui-gong branches.
Among his descendants, Jeong Yang-saeng (鄭良生) was a merit subject enfeoffed as Prince Bongwon, and Jeong Gu (鄭矩) served as minister of works and of taxation under King Taejong. Chief state councillor Jeong Chang-son (鄭昌孫), grandson of Jeong Bu (鄭符), was known as an upright official, and left state councillor Jeong Gwal also came from this line.
The Cheomsa-gong branch descends from Jeong Pil (鄭弼), of the same sixth generation as Jeong Bo. Its sub-branches include the Jikjehak-gong, Daehogun-gong, Suchan-gong and Chambong-gong branches, of which the Jikjehak-gong and Daehogun-gong branches form the core.
The Jikjehak-gong branch began with Jeong Sa (鄭賜), a royal academy official under King Sejong. His son Jeong Nan-jong (鄭蘭宗), minister of personnel and right minister without portfolio, is regarded as the restorer of the Dongnae Jeong clan, and his grandson Jeong Gwang-pil (鄭光弼) became chief state councillor under King Jungjong. Jeong Gwang-pil's descendants produced a long run of state councillors and ministers, including Jeong Yu-gil, Jeong Chang-yeon, Jeong Tae-hwa, Jeong Chi-hwa and Jeong Ji-hwa.
The Hojang-gong branch descends from Jeong Seon-jo (鄭先祚), a younger brother of Jeong Mok (鄭穆) of the Goryeo period.
Unlike Jeong Mok's line, which moved into the capital bureaucracy, this line is said to have stayed in Dongnae, the clan seat, serving for generations as local clerks (hyangni).
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
지백호(ultimate ancestor of the Jeong surname), 정목(Sangseo Jwabogya of Goryeo), 정광필(Chief State Councillor of Joseon), 정태화(Chief State Councillor of Joseon), 정원용(Chief State Councillor of Joseon)
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동래 정씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.
The Dongnae Jeong clan (東萊 鄭氏) is said to descend from Ji Baek-ho (智白虎), chief of Jinji village, one of the six villages of Silla. In the year 32 (9th year of King Yuri of Silla), the surname Jeong was granted and the ancestral seat was first Gyeongju, later branching to Dongnae. The founder was Jeong Hoe-mun (鄭繪文), who served as Anil Hojang of Dongnae County; because documentary records are lacking, Jeong Ji-won (鄭之遠), a Boyun Hojang, is taken as the 1st-generation mid-founder to continue the lineage.
The 3rd-generation mid-founder Jeong Mok (鄭穆) rose to Sangseo Jwabogya in the reign of King Munjong of Goryeo, and when all four of his sons passed the civil examination, the foundation of a distinguished house was laid. In the Joseon period it produced 17 State Councillors, 2 Daejehak, and 198 civil-examination graduates; the families of Chief State Councillor Jeong Gwang-pil and Jeong Tae-hwa, who served five times as Chief State Councillor, rose especially high.
A geomantic legend is passed down about the founder's tomb site at Mount Hwaji in Busan. When goblins dug up the wooden coffin, it was wrapped in barley straw to look like a 'golden coffin,' thus protecting the tomb; and a boulder that would have produced a traitor was split by lightning, removing the source of misfortune. This tomb remains today as Jeongmyosa Shrine (鄭墓祠) at Hwaji Park in Yangjeong-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan.
For other branch associations, see the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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