화산 이씨(花山 李氏) — A clan seated at Hwasan in Ongjin, Hwanghae, said to descend from Ly Long Tuong, a prince of Vietnam's Ly dynasty who is held to have settled in Goryeo and been made Lord of Hwasan. This account rests mainly on the clan genealogy, and some scholars consider it difficult to verify.
A clan seated at Hwasan in Ongjin, Hwanghae, said to descend from Ly Long Tuong, a prince of Vietnam's Ly dynasty who is held to have settled in Goryeo and been made Lord of Hwasan. This account rests mainly on the clan genealogy, and some scholars consider it difficult to verify. In the 2015 Census the 화산 이씨 clan numbered about 1,237 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 이, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 화산) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Over the generations the 화산 이씨 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.
Yi Yong-sang(honored ancestor, Ly dynasty prince), Yi Il-cheong(Magistrate of Andong), Yi Jang-bal(died at Mungyeong Saejae in the Imjin War)
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The Hwasan Yi clan (花山 李氏) takes its seat from Hwasan, in what was Buk-myeon, Ongjin County, Hwanghae Province. Its genealogy is said to honor Ly Thai To (Yi Gong-on), founder of Vietnam's Ly dynasty, as the founding ancestor, with his descendant Yi Yong-sang (Ly Long Tuong) as the honored mid-line ancestor. Earlier the clan is said to have treated Yi Yong-sang as founder, changing after contact with Vietnam began.
According to the tradition, Yi Yong-sang, a son of the Ly king Anh Tong, escaped by sea around 1225-1226 amid the Tran takeover, landed at Hwasan in Ongjin, and was enfeoffed by King Gojong as Lord of Hwasan. Some accounts add that he distinguished himself against the Mongol invasions.
The account rests chiefly on the Hwasan Yi genealogy, said to have been published in the early 1920s. Critics note that the Goryeosa records no such exile and that the monument at Ongjin is said to date from 1903, so some scholars regard the story as hard to verify. Vietnamese sources, on the other hand, are said to regard the genealogy as consistent with their own records and to honor the family as Ly descendants.
The 2015 census is reported to give 1,237 members (some sources cite about 1,775 for 2000). Seats of settlement include Ongjin, Byeokseong and Sincheon in Hwanghae, and in the south Bonghwa, Yeongju and Andong in North Gyeongsang and Miryang and Jinju in South Gyeongsang.
Goryeo-era lineage depends mainly on the genealogy. Yi Il-cheong, an 8th-generation descendant of Yi Yong-sang, is said to have served as Magistrate of Andong, after which some descendants settled in northern Gyeongsang.
The 16th-generation Yi Jeong is said to have been a teacher at Bonghwa, and the 17th-generation Yi Won-suk the settler at Bongseong in Bonghwa. The 20th-generation Yi Jang-bal (pen name Chunghyodang) is said to have died at Mungyeong Saejae in 1592 while serving in a volunteer army in the Imjin War.
Interest from Vietnamese scholars is said to date to the 1950s-60s, and contact with the Vietnamese embassy grew after diplomatic relations in 1992. A clan delegation visited Vietnam in 1995 and was warmly received, and clan representatives have since been invited to the Ly dynasty founding commemoration (around the 15th day of the third lunar month). Dinh Bang in Vietnam holds the Ly dynasty temple. The Jeongseon Yi clan, with a similar tradition, is said to have joined the visit, though the two origin accounts differ and are debated.
No branch divisions for the Hwasan Yi were found in public sources. As a small seat, members should check lineage details with the clan association and genealogy.
The honored ancestor Yi Yong-sang and the volunteer fighter Yi Jang-bal are introduced. In modern times the head of the lineage Yi Chang-geun is said to have become a Vietnamese citizen under the name Ly Xuong Can and to serve as Vietnam's tourism ambassador in Korea since 2017.
A Hwasan Yi clan association exists and the Hwasan Yi genealogy carries the lineage. Generation-name tables were not found in public sources. Generation counts differ depending on whether counted from Yi Yong-sang or from Ly Thai To, so check the basis when reading the genealogy.
The 화산 이씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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