고령 박씨(高靈 朴氏) — An ancestral seat in Goryeong, North Gyeongsang, whose founding ancestor is traditionally said to be Bak Eon-seong, Prince Goyang and second son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla; known for figures such as Bak Mun-su.
An ancestral seat in Goryeong, North Gyeongsang, whose founding ancestor is traditionally said to be Bak Eon-seong, Prince Goyang and second son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla; known for figures such as Bak Mun-su. In the 2015 Census the 고령 박씨 clan numbered about 43,774 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 박, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 고령) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Gyosu-gong, Yeong Champan-gong, Jikgang-gong, Seungji-gong, Gyeong Champan-gong, Jinsa-gong, Eupchwiheon-gong, Sajeong-gong, Hyeongam-gong, Musuk-gong, Gamsa-gong, Chamui-gong, Pangwan-gong, Soyun-gong, Uyun-gong, Baeksan-gong branches
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
박정희(5th-9th President of South Korea), 박근혜(18th President), 박은(Joseon poet-official, pen name Eupchwiheon), 박장원(Minister of Personnel under Hyeonjong), 박문수(Minister of Finance under Yeongjo, subject of inspector tales), 박영원(Left State Councillor under Cheoljong)
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The Goryeong Park clan (高靈 朴氏) honors Silla's founding king Park Hyeokgeose as its distant progenitor and traditionally names Bak Eon-seong (朴彦成), Prince Goyang and second son of King Gyeongmyeong, as its founding ancestor. Some accounts call him a 29th-generation descendant of Hyeokgeose, but the line from the founder down to the later ancestors cannot be firmly documented, so generations are counted from three restorer-ancestors: Bak Seom (Eosa-gong), Bak Hwan (Buchangjeong-gong) and Bak Yeon (Jubu-gong). The seat is Goryeong County in North Gyeongsang, but how the clan came to take that seat is not documented in the sources consulted.
Goryeong is counted among the 'Eight Parks' (Miryang, Bannam, Hamyang, Suncheon, Muan, Juksan, Chungju and Goryeong) and is described as the seventh largest by population. Park genealogies hold that the clan seats branched from the eight princes of King Gyeongmyeong, and Goryeong is traced to the second, Prince Goyang. This eight-prince story is a genealogical tradition rather than a documented fact, and some clans, such as Bannam, are known not to accept it.
The 2015 census counted about 43,774 members, up gently from 35,527 in 1985 and 39,239 in 2000. Roughly 80 to 90 percent are said to live in North Gyeongsang, notably in Goryeong County, Seongwon-ri in Seonnam-myeon, Seongju, and Omi-ri in Pungsan-eup, Andong. Clan villages are also reported in Uiryeong and Hapcheon, Ulju in Ulsan, Icheon, Yangpyeong, Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong in Gyeonggi, and Hansan in Seocheon.
The clan is credited with 56 civil examination graduates, one state councillor and four Incorruptible Officials in Joseon, the third-highest graduate count among the Eight Parks. Prominent figures include the poet Bak Eun, a victim of the 1504 literati purge; Bak Jang-won, Minister of Personnel and of Rites under Hyeonjong; his great-grandson Bak Mun-su, Minister of Finance under Yeongjo; and Bak Yeong-won, Left State Councillor under Cheoljong. The wife of Prince Imeon, an illegitimate son of King Jeongjong, and the mother of Queen Danui, consort of King Gyeongjong, are also said to have been Goryeong Parks.
Three lines descending from Bak Seom, Bak Hwan and Bak Yeon formed first, later dividing into branches such as Gyosu-gong, Yeong Champan-gong, Jikgang-gong, Seungji-gong, Gyeong Champan-gong, Jinsa-gong, Eupchwiheon-gong, Sajeong-gong, Hyeongam-gong, Musuk-gong, Gamsa-gong, Chamui-gong, Pangwan-gong, Soyun-gong, Uyun-gong and Baeksan-gong. The founders and generation counts of each branch are not confirmed in public sources.
Modern figures include Park Chung-hee (1917-1979), fifth to ninth president, and Park Geun-hye, eighteenth president, both described as Goryeong Parks; evaluations of both differ.
An ancestral burial ground of Park Chung-hee's forebears is reported at Seongwon-ri in Seonnam-myeon, Seongju. Other designated heritage sites are not confirmed in public sources. For generation names, the 'middle ancestors' generation is counted as 1 and 36 is added to reach Hyeokgeose's count; the 28th generation uses characters such as 彬, 大 and 英, and the 29th 熙, 仁 and 河. These can differ between branches, so check the clan genealogy.
The 고령 박씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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