전의 이씨(全義 李氏) — A clan whose seat is Jeonui in present-day Sejong City and which honors as its founder Yi Do, said to have helped found Goryeo; in the Joseon period it produced 188 civil examination graduates and state councillors and incorruptible officials such as Chief State Councillor Yi Tak.
A clan whose seat is Jeonui in present-day Sejong City and which honors as its founder Yi Do, said to have helped found Goryeo; in the Joseon period it produced 188 civil examination graduates and state councillors and incorruptible officials such as Chief State Councillor Yi Tak. In the 2015 Census the 전의 이씨 clan numbered about 164,189 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 이, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 전의) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
The Jeonui Yi clan takes as its ancestral seat the old Jeonui County of Chungcheong Province, today Jeonui-myeon in Sejong Special Self-Governing City. Jeonui was originally Guji-hyeon of Baekje; it was renamed Geumji-hyeon in 757 under King Gyeongdeok of Silla and became Jeonui-hyeon under Goryeo, attached to Cheongju. In 1414, under King Taejong of Joseon, it was merged with Yeongi into Jeongi-hyeon and later separated again; it was raised to a county in 1895, but in 1914 was absorbed into Yeongi County as Jeonui, Jeondong and Sojeong townships. When Yeongi County became Sejong City in 2012, the area became part of Sejong.
Because Jeonui was also known by the old names Jeonseong, Jeonsan and Jeoneun, old documents sometimes call the clan the Jeonseong Yi or Jeonsan Yi. These old names are also why Jeonui Yi merit subjects of the Joseon period were enfeoffed as Lord Jeonseong or Lord Jeonsan.
According to the clan genealogy and family tradition, the founder is Yi Do (李棹), a meritorious subject at the founding of Goryeo. When Wang Geon (King Taejo) marched south against Later Baekje and reached the flooded Geum River, he is said to have provided boats and opened a way for the army to cross. Taejo honored him with the name Do (棹), meaning "oar", and he is said to have risen to Grand Preceptor (taesa) with the rank of Samjung Daegwang as a merit subject of the founding. Some clan materials describe him as a native of Gongju and say his descendants settled below Iseongsan in Jeonui and took it as their seat. This story is a tradition preserved in genealogies and stele inscriptions rather than in the official histories.
The founder's grave lies in Yucheon-ri, Jeonui-myeon, Sejong City. Across from it stand the memorial hall Yeongsajae (永思齋), meaning "hall of everlasting remembrance", and the shrine Gyeongwonsa (景遠祠), where descendants hold an annual ancestral rite.
According to the genealogy, the line passed from the founder through Yi Gang, Yi Su-yeong, Yi Mun-gyeong, Yi Yun-gwan and Yi Sun to the seventh-generation Yi Cheon (李仟), who became a general of the Eungyang Guard. Recorded in the Goryeosa as Yi Cheon (李阡), he led a naval force against the Mongols in 1256, killing enemy soldiers at Onsu-hyeon (today's Onyang, Asan) and rescuing about a hundred captured Goryeo people.
The three main branches of today's clan divided among Yi Cheon's sons: the eldest Yi Ja-won founded the Daesaseong-gong branch, the second son Yi Hon (李混) the Munjang-gong branch, and the third Yi Ja-hwa the Jeonseo-gong branch. Yi Hon passed the civil examination in 1268, held key posts in the Royal Secretariat under Kings Chungnyeol and Chungseon, and retired as state councillor; his posthumous name is Munjang. Yi Ja-won's son Yi Eon-chung (1273-1338) served as Jeongdang Munhak and Grand Academician of the Office of Royal Decrees, and Yi Ja-hwa served as Ji-miljiksasa and minister of personnel.
Some lines established separate seats. The Yean Yi clan emerged from Yi Hon's line: the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says Yi Hon himself was enfeoffed as Earl of Yean and became its founder, while other sources say the split came when his grandson Yi Ik was enfeoffed as Lord Yean. Today the two clans meet together in the Jeonui-Yean Yi clan association. Yi Eon-chung is also said to have later been honored as founder of the Seorim Yi clan.
In early Joseon, Yi Jeong-gan (1360-1439) of the Jeonseo-gong branch, who in his seventies devotedly cared for his mother in her nineties, received from King Sejong an armrest and staff and the eight characters "a family that hands down loyalty and filial piety and for generations keeps benevolence and reverence"; he is revered as the clan's mid-founder. In his grandsons' generation the brothers Yi Hyo-jang, Yi Ui-jang, Yi Ye-jang, Yi Ji-jang and Yi Ham-jang all passed the examinations and won renown. Yi Ye-jang became a merit subject for the 1453 coup and was made Lord Jeonseong, Yi Ham-jang's son Yi Su-nam became a merit subject as Lord Jeonsan, and these brothers each founded sub-branches within the Jeonseo-gong branch.
Notable figures continued from the 16th century on. Yi Tak served as Right and then Chief State Councillor under King Seonjo, and Yi Jun-min, a nephew of the scholar Jo Sik, became Minister of War and Left Third State Councillor. Cheonggang Yi Je-sin was named an incorruptible official, and his great-grandson Yi Haeng-won opposed peace with the Qing during the 1636 invasion, escorted Crown Prince Sohyeon to Shenyang, and became Right State Councillor under King Injo. Yi Jeong-ran, who defended Jeonju Fortress during the Imjin War and the second invasion of 1597; the poet Yi Sun-in, who died of illness while escorting the court in 1592; and Yi Jeong-ran's great-grandson Maname Yi Sang-jin, Right State Councillor under King Sukjong and an incorruptible official, also belonged to the clan. Yi Wan, who married Princess Gyeongsin, a daughter of King Taejong, was made Lord Jeonui.
According to statistics compiled on Korean Wikipedia, the clan produced 188 civil examination graduates in the Joseon period, 17th among all clans, along with five state councillors, one grand academician, nine merit subjects, eight incorruptible officials, four scholars granted study leave, fourteen naval commanders of the three provinces, two royal sons-in-law, 38 recipients of posthumous names (41 including Goryeo) and three recipients of the royal armrest and staff.
The clan's genealogical work began early. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, in 1476 Yi Ha compiled a draft genealogy covering the Jeonui Yi and their maternal relations; the original is lost and only a preface by his grandson Yi Rin survives in later editions, and the clan calls it the Seonghwa Draft Genealogy. Later editions are said to include the Sungjeong edition of 1634 and the Gapsul edition of 1754.
The Korean Empire diplomat Yi Han-eung (1874-1905), acting minister in London, appealed to Britain to guarantee Korea's independence and, as national sovereignty collapsed, took his own life in London in 1905, the first of the martyrs around the Eulsa Treaty. The linguist Ilseok Lee Hee-seung was imprisoned in the Korean Language Society Incident and published the Great Dictionary of the Korean Language, and the painter Goam Lee Ungno won international recognition with his letter abstraction and "Crowd" series. Many other descendants are active in politics, law, the press, academia and the arts.
Census figures show the clan growing from 112,088 people in 26,970 households in 1985 to 133,237 in 41,071 households in 2000 and 164,189 in 2015. In 2015 it ranked 59th among all clans and fifth among Yi clans after the Jeonju, Gyeongju, Seongju and Gwangju Yi. The Yean Yi clan, which branched off from it, numbered 17,748.
Descendants are spread nationwide. The clan villages listed on Korean Wikipedia include Gongju, Nonsan, Asan, Cheonan and Yesan in South Chungcheong near the seat; Cheongju (old Cheongwon Ochang and Oksan), Chungju, Jincheon, Eumseong and Jeungpyeong in North Chungcheong; Gimpo, Paju, Yangpyeong, Gwangju, Hwaseong and Icheon in Gyeonggi; Hongcheon, Hoengseong, Chuncheon and Wonju in Gangwon; Jeonju, Wanju, Iksan and Gimje in North Jeolla; Naju, Yeonggwang and Gwangju in the south-west; Andong, Yeongju, Bonghwa, Cheongsong and Goryeong in North Gyeongsang; Uiryeong, Hapcheon and Sancheong in South Gyeongsang; and Jongno and Guro in Seoul and Gyodong on Ganghwa. Members are also said to have lived in Gaepung, Haeju and Yonggang in what is now North Korea.
The Daesaseong-gong and Jeonseo-gong branches long used separate generation characters, but from the 32nd generation they were unified with Sang (相), and a common clan-wide sequence is now used: 32nd Sang (相), 33rd Seop (燮), 34th Gi (基), 35th Jin (鎭), 36th Won (源), 37th Su (秀), 38th Yong (容), 39th Gyun (均) and 40th Seok (錫). Before that, the Daesaseong-gong branch used Yun (潤), Sik (植), Hui (熙), Gyo (敎), Ho (鎬) and Han (漢) for the 26th to 31st generations, and the Jeonseo-gong branch used Min (敏), Geun (根), No (魯), Se (世), Jong (鍾) and Ho (浩).
The clan intermarried with the Joseon royal family several times. Princess Gyeongsin, a daughter of King Taejong, married Yi Wan, and Princess Incheon, a daughter of King Jeongjong, married Yi Gwan-sik; the clan also married into the families of Prince Deokcheon (son of Jeongjong), Princes Uncheon and Yangwon (sons of Seongjong) and Princess Jeongsin (daughter of Seonjo). The epitaph of Royal Consort Yeong of the Yi clan, King Yeongjo's concubine and mother of Crown Prince Sado, gives her seat as Jeonui, but the clan has never recognized her, holding that she was originally a Jeonju Yi and that the seat was altered to avoid a same-surname marriage.
Descendants maintain the founder's grave and the rites at Yeongsajae through the Jeonui-Yean Yi clan association, and several branch associations, such as those of the Cheonggang-gong, Seoktan-gong and Bujeong-gong lines, run their own activities and websites.
Daesaseong-gong-pa, Munjang-gong-pa, Jeonseo-gong-pa, Gwanchalsa-gong-pa, Pyeonggan-gong-pa, Yejo Champan-gong-pa, Cheonggang-gong-pa, Hyoik-gong-pa
The Daesaseong-gong branch descends from Yi Ja-won (李子蒝), eldest son of General Yi Cheon (李仟) of the Eungyang Guard, a seventh-generation descendant of the founder Yi Do. Yi Ja-won served in the Office of Documents and was posthumously named director of the National Academy (daesaseong). His son Yi Eon-chung (1273-1338) passed the civil examination in 1294 and, serving four kings from Chungnyeol to Chunghye, rose to Jeongdang Munhak, Docheomui Pyeongni and Grand Academician of the Office of Royal Decrees; his posthumous name is Munui. He is also said to have later been honored as founder of the Seorim Yi clan.
In the 13th generation the branch divided into 18 sub-branches, including the Jinwon Hyeongam-gong (Dae-jong), Gamchal-gong (Dae-seong), Dojeoljesa-gong (Seung-gan), Soyun-gong (Seong-gan), Hyeongjo Jeongnang-gong (Jik-gan), Jeongseon Gunsu-gong (Gang-ji), Yangjeong-gong (Hwa), Okgye-gong (Nam), Jinsan Gunsu-gong (Yeong-gan) and Jungchuwonsa-gong (Ui-heup) lines. The Jik-gan line is among the more populous, and the Hyoik-gong line of Yi Jun-min, Minister of War and Left Third State Councillor, branched off from the Seung-gan line. The Okgye-gong line was also known in the Joseon period as the Munui Yi.
The Munjang-gong branch descends from Yi Hon (李混, 1252-1312), second son of Yi Cheon. Originally named Yi Ja-bun, with the courtesy name Geohwa and pen name Mongam, he passed the civil examination in 1268, held various posts in the Royal Secretariat and served as military commander of the north-west, and in 1308, when King Chungseon took the throne, was enrolled as a merit subject. Though once demoted to provincial magistrate after incurring the enmity of Consort Suk, he retired as state councillor; his posthumous name is Munjang.
Yi Hon's line early established Yean as a separate seat, becoming the Yean Yi clan. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says Yi Hon was enfeoffed as Earl of Yean and became that clan's founder, while other sources attribute the split to his grandson Yi Ik, a Bomungak academician, being made Lord Yean. In the 13th generation the branch divided into the Igyang-gong (Cheon) and Ipan-gong (On) lines, both known as Yean Yi. The 2015 census counted 17,748 Yean Yi.
The Jeonseo-gong branch descends from Yi Ja-hwa (李子華), third son of Yi Cheon, who served as Ji-miljiksasa and minister of personnel (seonbu jeonseo). The Goryeosa records that when King Chungseon wished to appoint him to a senior post while his brother Yi Hon was in charge of appointments, Yi Hon declined on the ground that two brothers should not both hold such offices. Yi Ja-hwa's great-grandson Yi Gu-jik (1339-1394) became a merit subject, and his son was Yi Jeong-gan, famed for his filial piety.
In Yi Jeong-gan's grandsons' generation the brothers Hyo-jang, Ui-jang, Ye-jang, Ji-jang and Ham-jang passed the examinations one after another, and in the 13th generation their descendants and others formed 25 sub-branches, the most of any Jeonui Yi branch. They include the Champan-gong (Sun-baek), Hadong Hyeongam-gong (Ui-jang), Pyeonggan-gong (Ye-jang), Juseo-gong (Ji-jang), Yejo Champan-gong (Ham-jang), Gwanchalsa-gong (Hyo-jang), Yanggan-gong (Seo-jang) and Yangho-gong (Byeong-jeong) lines; the Ham-jang line is among the more populous. The Cheonggang-gong line of Yi Je-sin branched off from the Seo-jang line.
The Gwanchalsa-gong branch, a sub-branch of the Jeonseo-gong line, descends from Yi Hyo-jang (李孝長), grandson of Yi Jeong-gan and son of Yi Sa-gwan, magistrate of Hanseong; his mother was a daughter of Chief State Councillor Han Sang-gyeong. Entering office through his father's privilege, he passed the civil examination in 1447 and joined the Office of Royal Decrees, and in 1452, as a deputy official of the diplomatic office, took part in compiling the Annals of King Sejong. After passing the higher examination in 1457 he served as third minister of personnel and of revenue, travelled to Ming China as envoy presenting falcons, and became third minister of works.
He then rose to inspector-general with the rank of gaseon daebu, became deputy of the Privy Council in 1462, and in 1463 went out as governor of Gyeongsang Province, where he died in office; the branch name 'Gwanchalsa-gong' (Lord Governor) comes from this last post. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that he and his brothers Ui-jang, who passed the military examination, and Ye-jang, Ji-jang and Ham-jang, who passed the civil examination, all won renown.
The Pyeonggan-gong branch, a sub-branch of the Jeonseo-gong line, descends from Yi Ye-jang (李禮長, 1406-1456), grandson of Yi Jeong-gan and son of Yi Sa-gwan. His courtesy name was Jamun, and the branch takes its name from his posthumous name Pyeonggan. After passing the licentiate examination in 1432 he became a recorder in the Office of Royal Decrees; in 1448 he was caned and exiled in connection with the case of An Sung-seon but was later released.
In 1453, as a secretary of the State Council, he helped Grand Prince Suyang in the Gyeyu coup and was enrolled as a third-class merit subject and enfeoffed as Lord Jeonseong, Jeonseong being an old name of Jeonui. The next year he served in the Privy Council while overseeing the Ministry of War, became third minister of war in 1455, and was enrolled as a second-class merit subject for helping King Sejo take the throne. He was posthumously named Minister of War. With his brothers Yi Hyo-jang (Gwanchalsa-gong line) and Yi Ham-jang (Yejo Champan-gong line), he founded one of the sub-branches of the Jeonseo-gong line.
The Yejo Champan-gong branch descends from Yi Ham-jang (李諴長), a grandson of Yi Jeong-gan who passed the civil examination and became vice minister of rites; according to the branch list on Korean Wikipedia it is one of the more populous Jeonui Yi lines. His son Yi Su-nam passed the licentiate examination at 17 and the special civil examination in 1458, then passed the higher examination and the Baryeong examination in 1465, serving as royal secretary and third minister of war.
In 1471 Yi Su-nam was enrolled as a fourth-class merit subject and enfeoffed as Lord Jeonsan, travelled to Ming China as an envoy of thanks and became governor of Hwanghae Province, but died at 32. He was posthumously named Minister of War, with the posthumous name Yanggan. His son Yi Han-won is said to have been a merit subject under King Jungjong, enfeoffed as Lord Jeonseong, with his grave in Pungam-ri, Seoseok-myeon, Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, still counted today as a Jeonui Yi clan village.
The Cheonggang-gong branch descends from Cheonggang Yi Je-sin (李濟臣, 1536-1583); according to the branch list on Korean Wikipedia it split from the Yanggan-gong (Seo-jang) line of the Jeonseo-gong branch. Yi Je-sin passed the civil examination in 1564 and governed Ulsan, Jinju and Ganggye well, curbing the abuses of clerks. As army commander of North Hamgyeong in 1583, he was held responsible when Nitanggae's Jurchen forces took Gyeongwon, and died in exile. He was later exonerated, posthumously named Minister of War and listed as an incorruptible official; his posthumous name is Pyeonggan.
His great-grandsons included Seohwa Yi Haeng-won, Right State Councillor under King Injo, and Jiam Yi Haeng-jin, magistrate of Gaeseong and governor of Gyeonggi. Yi Je-sin's collected works, the Cheonggang-jip, contain a genealogy of his ancestors that is also used as a source for the clan's Goryeo-period lineage. The branch runs its own association and website.
The Hyoik-gong branch descends from Yi Jun-min (李俊民, 1524-1590), whose posthumous name was Hyoik; according to the branch list on Korean Wikipedia it split from the Dojeoljesa-gong (Seung-gan) line of the Daesaseong-gong branch. Yi Jun-min was the son of Yi Gong-ryang, and because his mother was a daughter of Jo Eon-hyeong, the great Yeongnam scholar Nammyeong Jo Sik was his maternal uncle.
After passing the civil examination in 1549 he served as censor and royal lecturer, then under King Seonjo long oversaw northern defence as army commander and governor of Pyeongan Province, rising to Minister of War, director of the State Tribunal and Left Third State Councillor. Worried by the rise of the Eastern and Western factions, he admired Yi I's efforts at mediation and firmly opposed attacks on Yi I after his death in 1584. He is enshrined at Imcheon Seowon in Jinju; his son-in-law Jo Won and grandson Jo Hui-il were also noted officials.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
이천(Goryeo general who repelled the Mongols), 이혼(Goryeo state councillor, founder of the Munjang-gong branch), 이정간(early Joseon official famed for filial piety, mid-founder), 이탁(Chief State Councillor under King Seonjo), 이준민(Minister of War, Hyoik-gong), 이제신(incorruptible official, founder of the Cheonggang-gong branch), 이순인(poet, one of the Eight Great Writers), 이정란(defender of Jeonju in the Imjin War), 이행원(Right State Councillor under King Injo), 이상진(Right State Councillor under King Sukjong), 이한응(acting minister to Britain, patriotic martyr), 이희승(Korean linguist), 이응노(painter, art name Goam)
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The 전의 이씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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