선산 김씨(善山 金氏) — A clan seated at Seonsan in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, said to have two lines: the Ilseon Kim line founded by Kim Seon-gung, a Goryeo Samjungdaegwang Munha Sijung, and the Deulseong Kim line founded by Kim Chu, a son of King Gyeongsun. It is known as a leading Yeongnam Sarim family, represented by Kim Jong-jik.
A clan seated at Seonsan in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, said to have two lines: the Ilseon Kim line founded by Kim Seon-gung, a Goryeo Samjungdaegwang Munha Sijung, and the Deulseong Kim line founded by Kim Chu, a son of King Gyeongsun. It is known as a leading Yeongnam Sarim family, represented by Kim Jong-jik. In the 2015 Census the 선산 김씨 clan numbered about 138,819 people, one of Korea's major surnames and clans. Even among people surnamed 김, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 선산) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
Baegam-pa, Nongam-pa, Ganui-gong-pa, Hwaui-gun-pa, Gangho-pa, Jeompiljae-pa, Yangyang-gong-pa, Mundae-gong-pa, Jeongjo-gong-pa, Nangjang-gong-pa, Daejanggun-pa, Uyun-gong-pa, Gwadang-gong-pa, Chwisu-gong-pa, Gonyukjae-pa, Jungseoryeong-gong-pa, Panseo-gong-pa, Jwauijeong-gong-pa, Byeoljang-gong-pa
The Baegam branch descends from Kim Je (金齊, also written 金濟), 14th-generation descendant of the founder Kim Seon-gung. Serving as magistrate of Pyeonghae at the end of Goryeo, he is said to have written a poem on the wall of the county office and thrown himself into the sea when Joseon was founded. He was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites, given the title Chunggae (忠介), and enshrined at Gojuk Seowon in Andong and elsewhere.
His grandson Kim Hyo-jeong (金孝貞) passed the civil examination and became Minister of Personnel and Director of the Office of Special Advisors.
The Nongam branch descends from Kim Ju (金澍), younger brother of Kim Je. Minister of Rites at the end of Goryeo, he is said to have been returning from an embassy to Ming when he learned that Joseon had been founded, and to have sent only a letter and his clothes home to his wife without ever returning. Posthumously titled Chungjeong (忠貞), he is enshrined at Woram Seowon in Seonsan.
His grandson Kim Ji-gyeong (金之慶) served as Chief Censor and governor of Gangwon, and his great-grandson Kim Eung-gi (金應箕) became Left State Councillor and founded the Mundae-gong sub-branch.
The Ganui-gong branch descends from Kim U-ryu (金右鏐), 12th-generation descendant of Kim Seon-gung, who is said to have served in Goryeo as Right Grand Remonstrant and Academician of the Umungwan.
The Hwaui-gun branch descends from Kim Dal-sang (金達祥), 13th-generation descendant of the founder. He served as Ji-miljiksasa in late Goryeo and, for escorting the king during the Red Turban invasion, was made a first-rank Sinchuk Hojong merit subject with the title Prince Hwaui.
The Chwisu-gong and Songcheon-gong sub-branches stem from it, and the mid-Joseon official Kim Hyo-won (金孝元) and his younger brother Kim I-won (金履元) of this line founded the Seongam and Soam sub-branches.
The Gangho branch split from the Jeongjo-gong line (founded by Kim Yeon) and descends from Kim Suk-ja (金叔滋), pen name Gangho, 16th-generation descendant of the founder. He studied Neo-Confucianism under Gil Jae, served as Saye of the National Academy, and was posthumously titled Mungang (文康).
The Jeompiljae branch later split from it through his son Kim Jong-jik.
The Jeompiljae branch descends from Kim Jong-jik (金宗直), pen name Jeompiljae, son of Kim Suk-ja. He served as Minister of Punishments among other posts, was posthumously titled Munchung (文忠), and is revered as the master of the Yeongnam Sarim scholars, having trained Kim Goeng-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang and Kim Il-son.
After his death his essay Joui Jemun became the pretext for the Muo purge, in which his corpse was dismembered; the family suffered heavily and many of its records are said to have been lost.
The Yangyang-gong branch descends from Kim Gyo (金嶠), a descendant of Kim Heung-sul, grandson of Kim Seon-gung. He passed the military examination, rose to Minister of War, was made a first-rank Jeokgae merit subject and Prince Seonsan, and was posthumously titled Yangyang (良襄).
The Mundae-gong branch descends from Kim Eung-gi (金應箕), 18th-generation descendant of the founder, of the Nongam line. He is said to have served as a state councillor in early Joseon; sources variously give Right or Left State Councillor.
The Jeongjo-gong branch descends from Kim Yeon, 12th-generation descendant of the founder, and is described as the parent line of the Gangho branch and, below it, the Gwadang-gong and Jeompiljae branches.
The Nangjang-gong branch is said to descend from Kim Dal-gyeong, 13th-generation descendant of the founder.
The Daejanggun branch is said to descend from Kim Chang-seo, 9th-generation descendant of the founder.
The Uyun-gong branch is said to descend from Kim Deuk-ja, 12th-generation descendant of the founder.
The Gwadang-gong branch descends from Kim Jong-yu (17th generation) of the Gangho line, described as a brother of Kim Jong-jik.
The Chwisu-gong branch split from the Hwaui-gun line and descends from Kim Su-yang (17th generation), a magistrate of Boryeong with the pen name Chwisujeong.
The Gonyukjae branch is said to descend from Kim Ui-won (22nd generation) and is classed under the Hwaui-gun and Songcheon-gong line.
One of the four major Deulseong Kim branches, descending from Kim Seong-won, son of Kim Mun. It includes the line of Kim Gi (Lord Hwaui), with six sub-branches from the sons of Kim Gwang-jwa.
One of the four major Deulseong Kim branches, founded by Kim Seong-bu, son of Kim Mun. Its descendants are said to have lived around Dancheon in Hamgyeong.
One of the four major Deulseong Kim branches, founded by Kim Seong-ryong, son of Kim Mun, whose descendants are said to have lived around Icheon in Gyeonggi.
One of the four major Deulseong Kim branches, founded by Kim Seong-yeo, son of Kim Mun, whose descendants are said to have lived in Pyeongan.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
김종직(Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar and official), 김숙자(Joseon scholar), 김효원(Joseon official), 김응기(Joseon state councillor), 김제·김주(late-Goryeo loyalists), 김동리(novelist)
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The Seonsan Kim clan takes Seonsan (now in Gumi, North Gyeongsang) as its seat and is regarded as a Silla-descended Kim lineage tracing back to Kim Alji and, through Silla's last king Gyeongsun, to the royal line. Two lines with different founders are said to share this seat: the Ilseon Kim line, founded by Kim Seon-gung (金宣弓), who is said to have helped Goryeo's founder Taejo and risen to Samjungdaegwang Munha Sijung with the posthumous title Sunchung-gong; and the Deulseong Kim line, founded by Kim Chu (金錘), said to be the eighth son of King Gyeongsun enfeoffed as Lord of Ilseon.
Tradition holds that Kim Seon-gung was originally named Kim Seon and that Taejo gave him a bow (弓) and renamed him. The old Silla name of the area was Ilseon-gun; it was renamed Seonsan-gun in 1413 under King Taejong, and the clan seat is said to have changed accordingly.
The 2015 census is generally cited as giving about 138,800 members, though other sources give a larger combined figure for both lines. The clan has been concentrated in Seonsan and Gumi and across the Yeongnam region, including Andong, Gyeongju, Gimcheon, Sangju, Uiseong, Changwon, Jinju, Miryang, Hapcheon, Goryeong, Geochang and Hamyang. Parts of the Deulseong line are said to have settled in Dancheon in South Hamgyeong and Icheon in Gyeonggi.
Kim Seon-gung is said to have contributed to the unification of the Later Three Kingdoms; his son Kim Bong-mun is recorded as a local clerk of Ilseon and his grandson Kim Heung-sul as a hojang, local magnate. In Goryeo, figures such as Kim Im-nam and Kim Won-sung appear, and Kim Won-sung's daughter is traditionally identified as Queen Munhwa, consort of King Seongjong. The family seems to have grown from a local clerk lineage into one with central offices from late Goryeo.
Kim Je (金齊) is said to have drowned himself after Joseon was founded and was posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites, being enshrined at Gojuk Seowon and others. His brother Kim Ju (金澍) is said never to have returned from a Ming embassy after hearing of the new dynasty, and is enshrined at Woram Seowon in Seonsan. They founded the Baegam and Nongam branches and are often cited as the source of the clan's loyalist tradition.
Kim Suk-ja inherited the learning of Gil Jae and passed it to his son Kim Jong-jik, making the clan a core family of the Yeongnam Sarim. Kim Jong-jik served as Minister of Punishments, trained disciples such as Kim Goeng-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang and Kim Il-son, and is revered as the master of the Sarim. After his death his essay Joui Jemun triggered the Muo Literati Purge of 1498, in which his corpse was dismembered, and the family is said to have suffered greatly. Kim Eung-gi (Left or Right State Councillor, sources differ) and Kim Hyo-jeong (Minister of Personnel) were prominent at court, and Kim Hyo-won became a central figure in the Easterner-Westerner split.
The Kim Seon-gung line is usually described as having around 18 branches, including Baegam (Kim Je, 14th generation), Nongam (Kim Ju, 14th), Mundae-gong (Kim Eung-gi, 18th), Ganui-gong (Kim U-ryu, 12th), Hwaui-gun (Kim Dal-sang, 13th), Jeongjo-gong (Kim Yeon, 12th), Gangho (Kim Suk-ja, 16th), Jeompiljae (Kim Jong-jik, 17th) and Yangyang-gong (Kim Gyo, 17th). The Deulseong line is described as having four major branches founded by the four sons of Kim Mun (Jungseoryeong-gong, Panseo-gong, Jwauijeong-gong and Byeoljang-gong), with six sub-branches descending from Kim Gwang-jwa's sons. Generation counts differ between sources, so members should confirm their branch in their genealogy.
Kim Gi (Lord Hwaui), a descendant of Kim Chu, is said to have left office and withdrawn to the Okseong area of Gumi at the end of Goryeo out of loyalty. His descendants are said to have lived for some five centuries in the village of Deulseong. Later figures include the scholar Kim Chwi-seong (Jinrakdang), the official Kim Chwi-mun (Gu-am), and Kim Jong-mu, said to have died in the Battle of Bukcheon in Sangju during the Imjin War and to be honored at Sangju Chungnyeolsa.
In Joseon: Kim Suk-ja, Kim Jong-jik, Kim Hyo-won, Kim Eung-gi, Kim Hyo-jeong, Kim I-won, Kim Se-ryeom and Kim Gyo. In modern times, the independence activist Kim Beom-bu and his brother the novelist Kim Dong-ri, the constitutional scholar Kim Cheol-su and the six-term lawmaker Kim Yun-hwan are listed as members of the Kim Seon-gung line, while Kim Rip, Kim Jeong-muk and Deputy Prime Minister Kim Deok are listed among the Deulseong line.
Associated academies include Nakbong Seowon (Kim Suk-ja), Geumo Seowon (Kim Jong-jik), Woram Seowon (Kim Ju), and Gojuk, Ungok and Unam Seowon (Kim Je). Their heritage status and present condition should be checked with the relevant authorities.
The Seonsan (Ilseon) Kim Daejonghoe runs a website (sunsankim.net) which is said to make genealogical material available. Because two lines with different founders share one seat, it is worth checking first whether your family belongs to the Ilseon or Deulseong line. Marriage between the two lines is said to be permitted. Generation-name (hangnyeol) information was not confirmed from the sources used and may vary by branch.
For other branch associations, see the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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