경주 배씨(慶州 裵氏) — A representative ancestral seat of the Bae clan, taking as its founder Bae Hyeon-gyeong (裵玄慶), a merit subject in the founding of Goryeo.
A representative ancestral seat of the Bae clan, taking as its founder Bae Hyeon-gyeong (裵玄慶), a merit subject in the founding of Goryeo. Even among people surnamed 배, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 경주) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Cheosa-gong-pa, Seongsan Bogya-gong-pa, Hwasun Jinsa-gong-pa, Hamheung Gyoseo-gong-pa, Hyeopgye Hammun-sain-gong-pa, Namhae Gamsa-gong-pa
The Cheosa-gong branch descends from Bae Chung-gwa (裵忠果), honoured as the clan's restoring ancestor. Skilled in medicine, he was appointed a reader of medical texts under King Jungjong of Joseon and is said to have received the title Gyeongju Cheosa (the Gyeongju recluse).
It is the principal branch of the Gyeongju Bae, and the clan's generation-name table is arranged on the basis of this branch.
The Seongsan Bogya-gong branch counts Bae Yeong-chan (裵英贊), who served as Left Executive in late Goryeo, as its first generation. The Bae clan's great genealogy records him as a tenth-generation descendant of Bae Un-ryong, Prince Dalseong, and the fourth son of Bae Cheon-gyeong, but on the basis of documentary study he is widely regarded as belonging to a sub-branch of the Seongsan line.
The Hwasun Jinsa-gong branch of the Gyeongju Bae descends from Bae Yeon-sun (裵練循). It is listed with the Cheosa-gong and Seongsan Bogya-gong branches among the clan's main branches.
The Hamheung Gyoseo-gong branch of the Gyeongju Bae descends from Bae Deok-su (裵德秀). It appears with the Cheosa-gong branch and others in the clan's list of branches.
The Hyeopgye Hammun-sain-gong branch of the Gyeongju Bae descends from Bae Jin (裵縉). It appears with the Cheosa-gong branch and others in the clan's list of branches.
The Namhae Gamsa-gong branch of the Gyeongju Bae descends from Bae Sun (裵循). It appears with the Cheosa-gong branch and others in the clan's list of branches.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Bae Hyeon-gyeong(founder of the Gyeongju Bae clan; merit subject in the founding of Goryeo), Bae Chung-gwa(middle founder; Gyeongju recluse scholar), Ji Ta(surname-founding ancestor of the Bae clan)
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The Bae (裵) surname is recorded with 59 ancestral seats and, at about 400,000 people as of 2015, ranks 26th in surname population — one of Korea's representative surnames. A venerable surname dating back to the early founding of Silla, it was early on called one of the Samhan Gapjok (三韓甲族). The surname-founding ancestor (得姓祖) of the Bae clan is Ji Ta (祗沱), headman of Geumsan Gari village, one of the six villages of Saro, who is said to have received the Bae (裵) surname from King Yuri of Silla in the year 32.
Because the lineage after Ji Ta was lost, the Gyeongju Bae clan honors Bae Hyeon-gyeong (裵玄慶), a merit subject in the founding of Goryeo, as its founder. Bae Hyeon-gyeong's original name was Baek Ok-sam (白玉衫), but for his merit in helping Wang Geon establish Goryeo he was granted the Bae surname and ranked as a first-class merit subject in the founding of the dynasty. The clan continues its lineage taking as its middle founder (中始祖) Bae Chung-gwa (裵忠果), who was renowned for his medical skill during the reign of King Jungjong of Joseon.
From the four sons of Bae Sa-hyeok (裵斯革), Lord of Garak and a great-great-grandson of Bae Hyeon-gyeong, branched off the Bunseong Bae, Seongsan (Seongju) Bae, Dalseong Bae, and Heunghae Bae clans respectively. The Bae clan is distinctive in having produced a founding merit subject each time a new dynasty — Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon — was opened: Ji Ta of Silla, Bae Hyeon-gyeong of Goryeo, and Bae Geuk-ryeom of Joseon were precisely those founding grand merit subjects.
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 경주 배씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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