밀양 박씨 family tree

밀양 박씨(密陽 朴氏) — The largest ancestral seat among the Park surname, tracing its founder to Prince Milseong Park Eon-chim, son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla.

About the 밀양 박씨 clan

The largest ancestral seat among the Park surname, tracing its founder to Prince Milseong Park Eon-chim, son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla. In the 2015 Census the 밀양 박씨 clan numbered about 3,103,942 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 박, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 밀양) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.

Roots and History of the Miryang Bak (Park) Clan

Founder and Origin of the Ancestral Seat

The Miryang Bak clan (密陽 朴氏) takes Miryang in South Gyeongsang, the old Milseong, as its ancestral seat and is also called the Milseong Bak. The ultimate progenitor of all Bak clans is Bak Hyeokgeose, founder of Silla, and the founder of the Miryang Bak is his descendant Grand Prince Milseong, Bak Eon-chim (朴彦忱), eldest son of Silla's 54th king, Gyeongmyeong. His descendants took Milseong, his fief, as their seat.

Joseon-era Bak genealogies record the tradition of the "eight grand princes of Silla," in which King Gyeongmyeong's eight sons were enfeoffed across the land and founded different Bak clans. According to the Miryang Bak Sungjeong Imin-bo of 1662, Prince Milseong founded the Miryang Bak, and his brothers the Sangju, Jeonju, Juksan, Hamyang, Suncheon, Goryeong and Gyeongju Bak. The story is best read as evidence of how the many Bak seats saw themselves as sharing one root.

The Clan Through History

After Grand Prince Milseong's son Bak Uk entered Goryeo service, his descendants held office, and figures such as Bak Eon-bu, who became Munha Sijung under King Munjong, Bak Eon-sang and Bak Eon-in formed the main trunks of the clan. Centered on Bak Eon-bu's Milseong Buwongun line, Bak Eon-sang's Dopyeonguisasagong line and Bak Eon-in's Jwabogyagong line, the Miljikbusagong, Pandopangakgong, Samsajwayungong, Samunjinsagong, Chungheongong, Yeongdongjeonggong, Miljikbuwongun, Jeonggukgun and Gyujeonggong lines are commonly counted as the "twelve branches of the Miryang Bak."

In late Goryeo, Bak Wi led more than 100 warships against Tsushima in 1389, and Songeun Bak Ik refused to serve the new Joseon dynasty. In early Joseon, Nangye Bak Yeon, a descendant of Bak Eon-in, reorganized court music under King Sejong and was called the "sage of music," while in the Gyujeonggong line Bak Sim-mun, his nephew Bak Jung-son and Bak Jung-son's son Bak Geon won renown in succession. Bak Seung-jong became Chief State Councillor under Gwanghaegun, and the late-Joseon Northern Learning scholar Bak Je-ga also came from this clan. According to figures compiled on Wikipedia, the clan produced 261 civil and 1,125 military examination graduates and 756 licentiates in Joseon.

In modern times it produced many independence activists, including Bak Eun-sik, second President of the Provisional Government, Bak Sang-jin, commander of the Korean Restoration Corps, and Bak Cha-jeong of the Heroic Corps and the Korean Volunteer Corps, as well as POSCO founder Park Tae-joon. The 2015 census counted more than three million members, second only to the Gimhae Kim.

Notable Figures

• Bak Eon-chim (朴彦忱) — Founder of the clan; eldest son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla, said to have been made Grand Prince Milseong.
• Bak Eon-bu (朴彦孚) — Munha Sijung under King Munjong of Goryeo and Prince of Milseong; founder of the Milseong Buwongun line.
• Bak Ik (朴翊, 1332–1398) — Late-Goryeo official who refused repeated summons from the new Joseon court; pen name Songeun, posthumously titled Chungsuk.
• Bak Wi (朴葳) — General of late Goryeo and early Joseon who attacked Tsushima in 1389 and became a merit subject; founder of the Jeonggukgun line.
• Bak Yeon (朴堧, 1378–1458) — Musician from Yeongdong who reorganized court music and instruments under Sejong and served as Grand Academician.
• Bak Sim-mun (朴審問, 1408–1456) — Official said to have taken his own life on hearing of the execution of the Six Martyred Ministers; posthumously titled Chungjeong in 1871.
• Bak Jung-son (朴仲孫, 1412–1466) — Hall of Worthies scholar who became a first-rank merit subject in the 1453 coup and held several ministerial posts; posthumously titled Gonghyo.
• Bak Geon (朴楗, 1434–1509) — Son of Bak Jung-son; Minister of Punishments and Left Chancellor who helped compile the Annals of King Seongjong.
• Bak Seung-jong (朴承宗, 1562–1623) — Chief State Councillor under Gwanghaegun who took his own life with his son after the Injo Restoration.
• Bak Je-ga (朴齊家, 1750–1805) — Late-Joseon Silhak scholar, Gyujanggak editor and author of Bukhagui.
• Bak Eun-sik (朴殷植, 1859–1925) — Historian and journalist, author of The Painful History of Korea, and second President of the Provisional Government.
• Bak Sang-jin (朴尙鎭, 1884–1921) — Independence activist who organized the Joseon Sovereignty Restoration Group and the Korean Restoration Corps for armed resistance.
• Bak Cha-jeong (朴次貞, 1910–1944) — Woman independence activist in the Geunuhoe and the Heroic Corps, head of the women's service unit of the Korean Volunteer Corps.
• Park Tae-joon (朴泰俊, 1927–2011) — Founder of Pohang Iron and Steel (POSCO) and Prime Minister.

Clan Villages and Heritage Sites

Mural Tomb of Bak Ik, Miryang — The tomb of Songeun Bak Ik in Cheongdo-myeon, Miryang, built in 1420. Murals and an epitaph were discovered in 1999 while repairing the mound after a typhoon; it was the first painted mural tomb of the Joseon period ever found and was designated a Historic Site in 2005. Bak Ik is enshrined at Deongnam Seowon, Singye Seowon and Yonggangsa in Miryang.

Nangyesa, Yeongdong — Bak Yeon's shrine in Simcheon-myeon, Yeongdong County, designated a North Chungcheong Provincial Monument in 1976, where descendants hold rites. Yeongdong also holds the annual Nangye Gugak Festival and has the Nangye Gugak Museum.

Tomb of Bak Jung-son — In Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju, where the square stone lantern of the tomb is known as an example of Joseon stone art. Branch shrines and academies, such as Sinnam Seowon in Miryang kept by the Jeonggukgun line and the Gyeongmojae of the Chungheongong line, are spread throughout the country.

Miryang Bak Genealogies — In 1620 Bak An-haeng compiled the Gyeongsin edition with the help of Bak Seung-jong, and his son Bak Seung-geon corrected it and printed the Sungjeong Imin-bo in 1662. Printed from woodblocks in Honam by Bak Seung-geon, a 14th-generation descendant of Gyujeong-gong, it preserves the form of the clan's early genealogies.

Known clan villages include Miryang, Uiryeong, Jinju, Tongyeong, Hamyang and Hapcheon in South Gyeongsang; Gyeongju, Gimcheon, Sangju and Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang; Boseong, Jangseong and Jindo in South Jeolla; Namwon in North Jeolla; Cheonan, Geumsan and Yesan in South Chungcheong; Cheongju and Yeongdong in North Chungcheong; and Jeju.

Branch lines and genealogical succession can differ by lineage group and jokbo, so please check against your own family genealogy.

Main branches (派)

Milseong Buwongun-pa, Dopyeonguisasa-gong-pa, Jwabogya-gong-pa, Gukdang-gong-pa, Chungheon-gong-pa, Jeongguk-gun-pa, Gyujeong-gong-pa, Cheongjaegong-pa

Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.

Notable figures

박언침(founder of the Miryang Bak clan; Grand Prince Milseong), 박언부(Goryeo Munha Sijung; Prince of Milseong), 박익(late-Goryeo loyalist Songeun), 박위(general who attacked Tsushima), 박연(court musician under Sejong; Nangye), 박심문(loyalist of King Danjong; Cheongjae-gong), 박중손(Joseon merit subject), 박승종(Chief State Councillor under Gwanghaegun), 박제가(Silhak scholar), 박은식(independence activist; President of the Provisional Government), 박상진(commander of the Korean Restoration Corps), 박차정(woman independence activist), 박태준(founder of POSCO)

Tap a name for the full profile (life, career, grave, descendants).

밀양 박씨 — Independence patriots

밀양 박씨 figures recognized as independence patriots (National Independence Hall / Gonghun public data). Tap a name for the citation.

밀양 박씨 — Pro-Japanese collaborators

밀양 박씨 figures listed by the Presidential Committee or the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators (Minjok Munje Institute).

The Miryang Park Clan and Its Founder, Prince Milseong

The Miryang Park clan (密陽 朴氏), with its ancestral seat in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, is the most populous ancestral seat among the Park surname. The Park surname traces its ultimate ancestor to Bak Hyeokgeose, founder of Silla, and the founder of the Miryang Park clan is his descendant Prince Milseong, Park Eon-chim (朴彦忱). As the eldest son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla, he received Milseong (Miryang) as a fief, and his descendants took it as their ancestral seat.

A Distinguished House Branching into Many Lines

The Miryang Park clan divided into many branches over the generations and produced many civil officials and scholars during the Joseon period. Today it is one of the representative surnames distributed evenly across the country.

Related Videos

How to build your 밀양 박씨 tree

1. Start with yourself — sign in to get your own tree. Enter your name, birth year and clan seat (밀양).
2. Add older generations — add parents and grandparents. For accuracy see tracing ancestors with jejeok records (usually to about 5 generations).
3. Link siblings & children — sort by generational name (hangnyeol) to see each generation at a glance.
4. Export & share — save the finished tree as a PDF and invite family to manage it together.

Related reading

밀양 박씨 clan association

The 밀양 박씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.