진주 류씨(晉州 柳氏) — A Ryu clan seated in Jinju, divided into two lines: the Toryu line (founder Ryu Jeong), rooted in Jinju, and the Iryu line (central ancestor Ryu In-bi), said to have moved from the Munhwa Ryu. It is known for figures such as Ryu Sun-jeong, a merit subject of the Jungjong Restoration, and Yu Il-han, founder of Yuhan Corporation.
A Ryu clan seated in Jinju, divided into two lines: the Toryu line (founder Ryu Jeong), rooted in Jinju, and the Iryu line (central ancestor Ryu In-bi), said to have moved from the Munhwa Ryu. It is known for figures such as Ryu Sun-jeong, a merit subject of the Jungjong Restoration, and Yu Il-han, founder of Yuhan Corporation. In the 2015 Census the 진주 류씨 clan numbered about 93,073 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 류, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 진주) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
The Toryu ('native Ryu') line takes as its founder Ryu Jeong (柳挺), said to have served in Goryeo as jungseoryeong and general of the Left and Right Guards and to have been enfeoffed as Prince Jingang (晉康府院君). It is regarded as descending from a gentry family long settled in Jinju, and Ryu Jeong is also known as the maternal grandfather of Choe Chung-heon.
The line is reported to include the Gye-champhan-gong branch (with the Hyeongam-gong, Eomojanggun-gong, Boryeong-gong, Saui-gong and Jikjang-gong sub-lines), the Baek-champhan-gong branch (Munjeong-gong), the Daesaseong-gong branch and the Jincheon-gun branch. Yu Il-han (Jincheon-gun branch) and the Yu Chi-jin and Yu Chi-hwan brothers (Daesaseong-gong branch) are presented as members.
Clan villages are reported in Hapcheon, Sancheong and Geoje, Anseong (Daedeok-myeon, Geumgwang-myeon), Sangju and Cheongju.
A story that Ryu Don-sik (柳敦植) went to war against the Khitan invasion of 1217 is handed down but needs checking against sources.
The Iryu ('transferred Ryu') line takes as its central ancestor Ryu In-bi (柳仁庇), traditionally a descendant of Ryu Cha-dal, founder of the Munhwa Ryu. He is said to have moved from Munhwa to Jinju, to have served in Goryeo as deputy commissioner of the Royal Secretariat and to have been ennobled as Lord Jinsan. Sources differ on his generation from Ryu Cha-dal, from the 8th to the 10th.
The line is reported to include the Ipan-gong, Bukburyeong-gong, Siyun-gong, Pansa-gong and Angan-gong branches, and to have produced about 80 civil-service graduates and 4 incorruptible officials in Joseon. Ryu Sun-jeong, a Jungjong Restoration merit subject who became chief state councillor, and Ryu Geun, who accompanied King Seonjo, are known members. The incorruptible official Ryu Yeom (柳琰) is also attributed to this line, though sources give different periods for him.
Descendants are said to have lived in Namyangju, Anseong and Yongin, Seo-gu in Incheon, Gongju, Boryeong, Yeongam and Gimje. Some in the Toryu line regard the Iryu as a branch of the Toryu unrelated to the Munhwa Ryu.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Ryu Sun-jeong, Ryu Geun, Yu Il-han, Yu Chi-jin, Yu Chi-hwan
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The seat Jinju (晉州) is today's Jinju in South Gyeongsang. The clan is distinctive in having two lines: the Toryu (土柳, 'native Ryu', rooted in Jinju) and the Iryu (移柳, 'transferred Ryu', said to have moved in from elsewhere). The Toryu line honors Ryu Jeong (柳挺), a mid-Goryeo official, while the Iryu line honors Ryu In-bi (柳仁庇), traditionally described as a descendant of Ryu Cha-dal (柳車達), founder of the Munhwa Ryu.
The relationship between the two lines is disputed. The Iryu line, citing Munhwa Ryu genealogies, says Ryu Eon-chim was enfeoffed with the Jinju land and his descendant Ryu In-bi moved from Munhwa to Jinju, whereas some in the Toryu line hold that the Iryu has nothing to do with the Munhwa Ryu and is a branch of the Toryu. Sources also give Ryu In-bi variously as an 8th-, 9th- or 10th-generation descendant of Ryu Cha-dal, and it is not confirmed that the Ryu In-bi of the two genealogies is the same man.
The 2015 census is reported to have counted about 93,000 people for the Jinju Ryu (including those who write the surname Yu). Because the spellings Ryu/Yu and Jinju/Jinyang (晉陽) are mixed, the two lines cannot be cleanly separated statistically.
The Iryu line is said to have lived in places such as Namyangju, Anseong, Yongin, Paju and Yeoju in Gyeonggi, Seo-gu and Ganghwa in Incheon, Gongju, Boryeong, Dangjin, Buyeo and Nonsan in South Chungcheong, Yeongam, Gimje, Wonju and Cheorwon. The Toryu line is reported to have had clan villages in Hapcheon, Sancheong and Geoje in South Gyeongsang, Anseong, Sangju, Cheongju, and parts of Hwanghae and Hamgyeong.
Ryu Jeong, the Toryu founder, is said to have served as jungseoryeong and general of the Left and Right Guards and to have been enfeoffed as Prince Jingang; he is also known as the maternal grandfather of Choe Chung-heon, who opened the military regime. Ryu In-bi of the Iryu line is said to have held posts such as deputy commissioner of the Royal Secretariat and to have been ennobled as Lord Jinsan, though details vary by genealogy.
The Iryu line is reported to have produced about 80 civil-service graduates, 4 incorruptible officials, 2 chief scholars and about 30 army commanders. Notable figures include Ryu Sun-jeong, a merit subject of the Jungjong Restoration who became chief state councillor, and Ryu Geun, a literary man who accompanied King Seonjo during the Imjin War. Ryu Yeom (柳琰), known as an incorruptible official of the late Goryeo to early Joseon, is also presented as belonging to this line.
The Iryu line is said to include the Ipan-gong, Bukburyeong-gong, Siyun-gong, Pansa-gong and Angan-gong branches; the Toryu line includes the Gye-champhan-gong branch (with sub-lines such as Hyeongam-gong, Eomojanggun-gong, Boryeong-gong, Saui-gong and Jikjang-gong), the Baek-champhan-gong branch (Munjeong-gong), the Daesaseong-gong branch and the Jincheon-gun branch. Founder names and generations are written differently in different genealogies, so check the register of your own line.
From the Toryu line, Yu Il-han, founder of Yuhan Corporation (Jincheon-gun branch), and the brothers Yu Chi-jin (playwright) and Yu Chi-hwan (poet) of the Daesaseong-gong branch are well known. From the Iryu line, the independence activist Ryu Wan-mu and the calligrapher Geomyeo Ryu Hui-gang are listed.
The Iryu and Toryu lines are reported to have separate grand clan associations. Since the two lines have different founders and have compiled separate genealogies, confirm your line (Toryu or Iryu) and branch first, then contact the corresponding association.
The 진주 류씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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