성주 배씨(星州 裵氏) — A Bae clan whose seat is Seongju (also called Seongsan Bae), associated with founder Bae Wi-jun, Prince Heungan Bae In-gyeong, and the Joseon founding subject Bae Geuk-ryeom.
A Bae clan whose seat is Seongju (also called Seongsan Bae), associated with founder Bae Wi-jun, Prince Heungan Bae In-gyeong, and the Joseon founding subject Bae Geuk-ryeom. In the 2015 Census the 성주 배씨 clan numbered about 83,620 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 배, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 성주) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Hwadang-gong-pa, Jikjehak-gong-pa, Maegok-gong-pa, Allyeom-gong-pa, Nogyadang-gong-pa, Jeongjeol-gong-pa, Jinsa-gong-pa
The Hwadang-gong branch descends from Bae Gyu (裵規). It stems from Bae Mun-jeok (裵文迪), son of Bae In-gyeong, Prince Heungan; Bae Gyu is recorded as passing the civil examination in 1382 and becoming Chief Censor under King Taejong of Joseon.
His son Bae Yun (裵閏) served as Academician of the Hall of Worthies and founded the separate Jikjehak-gong branch.
The Jikjehak-gong branch descends from Bae Yun (裵閏), son of Bae Gyu and fifth-generation descendant of Bae Mun-jeok. He passed the civil examination in 1411, served as Censor and Inspector, and rose to Academician (jikjehak) of the Hall of Worthies.
His descendants have lived for some 400 years in Sangsam village, Ongnyeon-ri, Daega-myeon, Seongju.
The Maegok-gong branch descends from Bae Do (裵壔), eighth-generation descendant of Bae Mun-jeok. Descendants of his seventh-generation descendant Bae Geun-sang and others have lived for some 500 years in Bodong, Boam-ri, Wolhang-myeon, Seongju.
The Allyeom-gong branch (also Allyeomsa-gong-pa) descends from Bae Gu. It is described as one of the branches, with the Hwadang-gong, Jinsa-gong and Jikjehak-gong branches, that split from the Bae Mun-jeok line.
Namu Wiki says the founder's grave is at Yeongheung in the north and a memorial stele pavilion stands at Sigeum-ri, Yongsan-myeon, Yeongdong; please confirm lineage details in the genealogy.
The Nogyadang-gong branch descends from Bae Yu (裵裕, 1403-1472), pen name Nogyadang, who served in the Hall of Worthies in early Joseon. He was Academician of the Hall and posthumously made Minister of Rites, and tradition says he was exiled to Cheongju after angering King Sejo through his friendship with the Six Loyal Subjects who lived.
His seventh-generation descendant Bae Cheon-ui (裵天義, 1584-1654) was made a first-rank Jinmu merit subject for service against the Yi Gwal rebellion and settled in the 1600s at Nosong-ri, Yeondong-myeon, in present-day Sejong.
The Jeongjeol-gong branch descends from Bae Geuk-ryeom (裵克廉, 1325-1392), posthumously titled Jeongjeol, sixth-generation descendant of Bae Mu-jeok (裵武迪), son of Bae In-gyeong. He repeatedly defeated Japanese raiders in late Goryeo, joined the withdrawal from Wihwado, and in 1392 helped enthrone Yi Seong-gye, becoming a first-rank founding merit subject, Earl of Seongsan, and Left Chancellor.
Descendants of his 13th-generation descendant Bae Hyeok live at Gyeondong, Daehwang-ri, Seongju-eup, and his descendants also form a clan village at Majeon, Masan-ri, Baekgu-myeon, Gimje, North Jeolla.
The Jinsa-gong branch is described as descending from Bae Hyeon, a Seonggyun-gwan licentiate, with the Gunsu-gong sub-branch (Bae Yeong-seong) beneath it. A memorial stele for Bae Hyeon stands at Donam 1-ri, Daega-myeon, Seongju. The founder's Hanja and generation vary by source.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
Bae Wi-jun(founder), Bae In-gyeong, Bae Geuk-ryeom, Bae Gyu, Bae Yu, Bae Seol, Bae Heung-rip, Bae Myeong-sun, Bae Seong-ryong, Bae Jeong-hyeon
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The Seongju Bae clan (星州 裵氏) takes Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, as its ancestral seat, and is also called the Seongsan Bae clan (星山 裵氏) after Seongju's old name. The founder is said to be Bae Wi-jun (裵位俊), who reached the rank of Samjung Daegwang and was named a merit subject in Goryeo; Wikipedia presents his fifth-generation descendant Bae In-gyeong as the clan's "second founder".
The seat is commonly explained by Bae In-gyeong being enfeoffed as Prince Heungan (興安府院君) and adopting Seongsan as his home seat, though sources disagree on whether this occurred under King Wonjong or King Chungsuk. Namu Wiki lists the Silla figure Jita as distant ancestor and Goryeo founding subject Bae Hyeon-gyeong as an ancestor, but Bae Hyeon-gyeong is also treated as a figure of the Gyeongju Bae clan, so accounts differ. The 1764 Gapsin joint genealogy names Bae Cheon-ryong as a branch founder, but his generational placement is unclear, and many regard Bae Wi-jun as the starting point.
In the 2015 census the Seongju Bae clan numbered 83,620 and the Seongsan Bae clan 65,052, together 148,672 (Wikipedia). Major clan villages are reported at Donam-ri in Daega-myeon (Seongju), Songchon-ri in Okpo-eup (Dalseong, Daegu), Deokgok-myeon (Goryeong), Bian-myeon (Uiseong), Sinan-ri in Jomma-myeon (Gimcheon), Baekgu-myeon (Gimje), Cheorwon, and Yeongheung in the north.
Bae In-gyeong is said to have served as Hallim Academician and Directing Academician of the Bomungak before rising to Vice Director of the Privy Council under King Chungseon; from his sons Bae Mun-jeok and Bae Mu-jeok the main lines divide. Late in Goryeo, Bae Jin-son, a Minister of Works, is said to have declined repeated summonses from Joseon's founder.
Bae Geuk-ryeom (1325-1392), sixth-generation descendant of Bae Mu-jeok, joined the Wihwado withdrawal, helped enthrone Yi Seong-gye, and was made a first-rank founding subject and Earl of Seongsan. Early Joseon produced officials such as Bae Gyu (Hwadang), his son Bae Yun, and Bae Yu (Nogyadang). During the Imjin and Chongyu wars, the righteous-army leader Bae Deok-mun, naval commander Bae Seol, Bae Heung-rip under Yi Sun-sin, and Bae Jeup, who is said to have fallen at Noryang, are remembered; Bae Myeong-sun advocated resistance at Namhansanseong in the Second Manchu invasion.
Sources vary slightly, but from the Bae Mun-jeok line came the Hwadang-gong (Bae Gyu), Allyeom-gong (Bae Gu), Jinsa-gong (Bae Hyeon) and Jikjehak-gong (Bae Yun) branches, with the Maegok-gong (Bae Do) under the Hwadang line. Others include the Nogyadang-gong (Bae Yu), Nakcheon-gong (Bae Sin), and the Jaesin-gong (Bae Gyeong-sin), under which fall the Jeongjeol-gong (Bae Geuk-ryeom) and Miun-gong (Bae Geuk-myeong) branches, and the Seongsan Bogya-gong branch.
Notable members include the founding subject Bae Geuk-ryeom, the Imjin War commander Bae Heung-rip, the naval commander Bae Seol, the Hall of Worthies scholar Bae Yu, the independence activist Bae Seong-ryong, and the Supreme Court Justice Bae Jeong-hyeon.
Heunganjae and Sungdeoksa in Gyeongsan-ri, Seongju-eup, commemorate Bae In-gyeong and enshrine Bae Wi-jun and Bae In-gyeong, with rites reported on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Gyeongjeolsa in Daehwang-ri honors Bae Geuk-ryeom, and a perpetual shrine (Jeongjeol-gong Bujomyo) stands in Baekgu-myeon, Gimje. Modo-jae in Gyesang-ri (Yongam-myeon), the Geumosanseong memorial stele in Gumi (Bae Seol), and the Seongsan Bae Samgang gate on Wando's Gogeum island are also noted.
Branch lines and lineage details vary by clan and genealogy, so please verify your own family history in the genealogical record and clan association materials you hold.
The 성주 배씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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