강릉 최씨 family tree

강릉 최씨(江陵 崔氏) — A clan whose ancestral seat is Gangneung in Gangwon Province, said to have continued through several lineages.

About the 강릉 최씨 clan

A clan whose ancestral seat is Gangneung in Gangwon Province, said to have continued through several lineages. In the 2015 Census the 강릉 최씨 clan numbered about 148,715 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 최, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 강릉) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.

Roots and history of the Gangneung Choe clan

Founders and origin of the clan seat

The Gangneung Choe take Gangneung in Gangwon as their ancestral seat, but their most distinctive feature is that three lineages with different founders share it: the Choe Pil-dal line (Gyeongju line), whose founder Choe Pil-dal (崔必達) is said to have been a founding merit subject of Goryeo made Prince Gyeongheung; the Choe Heun-bong line (Jeonju line), whose founder Choe Heun-bong (崔欣奉) is said to have been a royal son-in-law of King Taejo of Goryeo; and the Choe Mun-han line (Ganghwa line), whose founder Choe Mun-han (崔文漢) is said to have married into the family of King Chungsuk. The three are unrelated by blood and keep separate genealogies and generation names.

The founders' titles and royal marriages are either not confirmed in the Goryeosa or predate the institutions they refer to, so some regard them as later embellishments. The founding traditions are best read as clan records, with the actual line confirmed from the earliest documented generations. Because genealogies, branches and generation names differ completely between the three lines, the first step in finding a Gangneung Choe jokbo is to confirm which of the three your family belongs to.

Gangneung, once called Haseulla (何瑟羅) and Myeongju (溟州), was the leading town of the Yeongdong region on the East Sea coast beyond Daegwallyeong Pass. Many Gangneung Choe still live in Gangneung and the Yeongdong area; with about 149,000 members in 2015 the clan is the fourth-largest Choe seat.

The clan through history

In the Goryeo period Choe Yu, who rose to munha sirang dongpyeongjangsa, and Choe Su-hwang, who retired as cheomui chanseongsa, left their names. At the founding of Joseon, Choe Yu-ryeon was made a secondary founding merit subject and Lord Gangneung; his merit-subject certificate is designated a Treasure.

In the 15th and 16th centuries three generations of the Choe Pil-dal line established the family as leading gentry of Gangneung: Choe Chi-un, who became Vice Minister of Personnel under King Sejong; his son Choe Eung-hyeon, Inspector-General and Vice Minister of Punishments; and his grandson Choe Su-seong, a scholar-painter of the Gimyo generation of Neo-Confucian literati. The house Choe Chi-un built in Gangneung passed through Choe Eung-hyeon to the family of his second daughter, and Shin Saimdang and Yi I (Yulgok) were later born there to his descendants through the female line; it became famous as Ojukheon (烏竹軒). Yi I himself wrote the text of Choe Eung-hyeon's spirit-path stele.

Together the three lines produced 31 successful candidates in the Joseon civil examination. Clan villages are centred on Gangneung and are also found in Sanbuk-myeon (Mungyeong), Nokjeon-myeon (Andong) and Uljin in North Gyeongsang and in Hapcheon and Geochang in South Gyeongsang; before division there were also large settlements in Hamgyeong Province. Modern figures include Choi Kyu-hah, 10th President, of the Maechang-gong branch of the Pil-dal line; Deputy Prime Minister Choi Gak-kyu and Chief Justice Choi Jong-young of its Yongyeondong branch; and former Gangwon governor Choi Moon-soon.

Notable figures

• Choe Pil-dal (崔必達) — Founder of the Pil-dal (Gyeongju) line, said to have been a Goryeo founding merit subject and Prince Gyeongheung.
• Choe Heun-bong (崔欣奉) — Founder of the Heun-bong (Jeonju) line, said to have been a son-in-law of King Taejo of Goryeo.
• Choe Mun-han (崔文漢) — Founder of the Mun-han (Ganghwa) line, said to have been a son-in-law of King Chungsuk of Goryeo.
• Choe Yu — Mid-Goryeo official who rose to munha sirang dongpyeongjangsa.
• Choe Yu-ryeon — Secondary founding merit subject of Joseon and Lord Gangneung; his merit certificate survives as a Treasure.
• Choe Chi-un (崔致雲, 1390-1440) — Passed the civil examination in 1417, served in 1433 as aide to Pyeongan commander Choe Yun-deok in the campaign against the Jurchen beyond the Yalu, went several times as envoy to Ming, took part in compiling the forensic manual Sinju murwollok and became Vice Minister of Personnel. He first built Ojukheon.
• Choe Eung-hyeon (崔應賢, 1428-1507) — Son of Choe Chi-un; passed the civil examination in 1454, served three times as Inspector-General and became Governor of Gangwon and Vice Minister of Punishments. An ancestor of Yi I on his mother's side.
• Choe Su-seong (崔壽峸, 1487-1521) — Pen name Wonjeong. A disciple of Kim Goeng-pil and friend of Jo Gwang-jo and Kim Jeong, gifted in poetry, calligraphy, painting and music; he was executed in the Sinsa purge of 1521, later exonerated and posthumously made Chief State Councillor.
• Choe Yeon (崔演) — Mid-Joseon official who passed all three examinations (saengwon, jinsa and the civil exam) and twice served as Mayor of Hanseong.
• Choi Kyu-hah (崔圭夏, 1919-2006) — Diplomat who became prime minister and then 10th President of Korea.
• Choi Gak-kyu (崔珏圭) — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Planning, and the first popularly elected Governor of Gangwon.
• Choi Jong-young (崔鍾泳) — 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Choi Moon-soon (崔文洵, 1956-) — Journalist-turned-politician who served three terms as Governor of Gangwon.

Clan lands and heritage sites

• Ojukheon, Gangneung — An early Joseon house in Jukheon-dong, Gangneung, designated a Treasure. Said to have been first built by Choe Chi-un in the early 15th century, it passed through Choe Eung-hyeon to his descendants through the female line and became the birthplace of Shin Saimdang and Yi I.
• Samhyeon Stele Pavilion (三賢碑閣) — A pavilion at the entrance of Daejeon-dong, Gangneung, sheltering the spirit-path steles of three generations: Choe Chi-un, Choe Eung-hyeon and Choe Su-seong. Choe Eung-hyeon's stele, composed by Yi I with seal-script heading by Heo Mok, was erected in 1678; the Pil-dal line clan association built the pavilion when it erected Choe Su-seong's stele in 1957.
• Hyanghyeonsa Shrine, Gangneung — A shrine in Gyo-dong, Gangneung, honoring renowned scholars of the region; Choe Chi-un, Choe Eung-hyeon and Choe Su-seong were enshrined there in 1645, and it is now a designated tangible heritage of Gangwon.
• Tomb of Choe Eung-hyeon — He is recorded as buried at Josan (助山), Gangneung, in 1507.

Branch divisions and genealogies vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own line in your family's records.

Main branches (派)

Choe Pil-dal line, Choe Heun-bong line, Choe Mun-han line

Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.

Notable figures

최필달(founder of the Pil-dal line), 최흔봉(founder of the Heun-bong line), 최문한(founder of the Mun-han line), 최유(Goryeo munha sirang dongpyeongjangsa), 최유련(Joseon founding merit subject), 최치운(Vice Minister under Sejong and builder of Ojukheon), 최응현(Inspector-General and maternal ancestor of Yi I), 최수성(Wonjeong; scholar of the Gimyo literati), 최연(Mayor of Hanseong in Joseon), 최규하(10th President of Korea), 최각규(Deputy Prime Minister and Governor of Gangwon), 최종영(Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), 최문순(former Governor of Gangwon Province)

Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).

How to build your 강릉 최씨 tree

1. Start with yourself — sign in to get your own tree. Enter your name, birth year and clan seat (강릉).
2. Add older generations — add parents and grandparents. For accuracy see tracing ancestors with jejeok records (usually to about 5 generations).
3. Link siblings & children — sort by generational name (hangnyeol) to see each generation at a glance.
4. Export & share — save the finished tree as a PDF and invite family to manage it together.

Related reading

강릉 최씨 clan association

The 강릉 최씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.