곡산 연씨(谷山 延氏) — A rare surname (稀姓) whose ancestral seat is Goksan in Hwanghae Province, taking as its de facto founder Yeon Sa-jong (延嗣宗), a merit subject in the founding of Joseon and a Jwamyeong merit subject.
A rare surname (稀姓) whose ancestral seat is Goksan in Hwanghae Province, taking as its de facto founder Yeon Sa-jong (延嗣宗), a merit subject in the founding of Joseon and a Jwamyeong merit subject. In the 2015 Census the 곡산 연씨 clan numbered about 34,766 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 연, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 곡산) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Over the generations the 곡산 연씨 clan divided into several branches (pa). Confirm which branch your family belongs to through your jokbo or clan association. See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Yeon Sa-jong(founder of the Goksan Yeon clan; merit subject in the founding of Joseon and Jwamyeong merit subject), Yeon Choe-jeok(civil official under King Sukjong; Uimin-gong)
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The Goksan Yeon clan (谷山 延氏) is a surname whose ancestral seat is Goksan (谷山) in Hwanghae Province, a rare surname (稀姓) numbering about 34,766 people according to the 2015 Statistics Korea Population and Housing Census. The figure honored by the clan as its de facto founder is General Yeon Sa-jong (延嗣宗), a military official of early Joseon. According to the Annals of King Sejong, his family, who had originally lived in Goksan, moved to Hamhung (咸興) in Hamgyong Province in his grandfather's generation, and Yeon Sa-jong himself was born in Hamhung.
Yeon Sa-jong was from the same hometown as Taejo Yi Seong-gye, and by rendering merit in the return of the army at Wihwado he became a Founding Assistant Merit Subject (開國原從功臣); he was then enrolled as a 4th-class Jwamyeong merit subject (佐命功臣) for aiding King Taejong in the Second Strife of Princes, and was enfeoffed as Lord of Goseong (谷城君). Since virtually all Goksan Yeon members south of Hwanghae Province trace their roots to him, the clan takes him as its de facto founder.
Thanks to their ancestor having been a Jwamyeong merit subject, the descendants of the Goksan Yeon clan enjoyed various favors (恩典) throughout early Joseon, being appointed through reward (報恩) appointments or granted exemption from most offenses. The eldest son Yeon Gyeong (延慶) served as Governor of Anju and traveled to Beijing in Ming China in 1450 as an envoy of gratitude (謝恩使), and descendants who rose to senior third rank (堂上官) continued thereafter.
However, in 1547 (the 2nd year of King Myeongjong) the clan was implicated in the Jeongmi Literati Purge (丁未士禍), and as Yeon Ae, Yeon Baek-jae, Yeon Ui, and others suffered calamity, part of the clan left Hanseong and retired to the countryside in Cheongan (淸安) and the Yeongnam region. For this reason successful civil examination candidates ceased for a time, until Yeon Seop (延爕) again passed the civil examination in 1621 (the 13th year of King Gwanghaegun) and the family began to recover.
Chidang (癡堂) Yeon Choe-jeok (延最績), a civil official of King Sukjong's reign, passed the civil examination in 1682 and served as Royal Secretary (Doseungji) and other posts, but while submitting a memorial pleading the injustice of deposing Queen Inhyeon and the pardon of those implicated in it, he died under torture in prison. He was later posthumously appointed Minister of Personnel under King Yeongjo, and in the 8th year of King Jeongjo he was granted the posthumous title 'Uimin (毅愍)'. This family ethos of fidelity is cited as the reason the Goksan Yeon clan, though few in number, left its name in Joseon history.
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 곡산 연씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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