울산 김씨(蔚山 金氏) — A Kim seat founded by Kim Deok-ji, a prince of Silla King Gyeongsun, that flourished in Honam around Jangseong; known as the clan of Kim In-hu, Kim Seong-su and Kim Byeong-ro.
A Kim seat founded by Kim Deok-ji, a prince of Silla King Gyeongsun, that flourished in Honam around Jangseong; known as the clan of Kim In-hu, Kim Seong-su and Kim Byeong-ro. Even among people surnamed 김, a different clan seat (bon-gwan, 울산) means a different lineage. New to these terms? See the bon-gwan, pa & hangnyeol guide.
The Ulsan Kim clan (蔚山 金氏) takes as its founder Kim Deok-ji (金德摯), a prince of Gyeongsun, the last king of Silla, with Ulsan as its seat. It is known as one of the seats that branched from the Silla royal line alongside the Gyeongju Kim, and is separate from the Gimhae Kim.
Records say Kim Deok-ji received the Hakseong (鶴城, an alternative name of Ulsan) area as a fief and was made Prince Hakseongbuwon, and his descendants took it as their seat. A tradition holds that when King Gyeongsun moved to submit to Goryeo in 935 he opposed it and went to Mount Geumgang with Crown Prince Maui, but sources differ on whether he was a secondary, second or youngest son, and one even records that he took Buddhist vows, so this cannot be fixed.
His 14th-generation descendant Kim Hwan (金鐶) was made Lord of Hakseong under King Chungsuk of Goryeo, and the descendants regard him as the middle founder of the Ulsan seat.
The Jang branch is said to descend from Kim Dalgeun (金達根), eldest son of Kim On. Further details were not confirmed here.
The Jung branch descends from Kim On's second son Dalwon (金達源). One source describes Kim In-hu as a great-grandson of Dalwon's line.
The Gye branch is said to descend from Kim On's third son Dalji (金達之). Details were not confirmed here.
Branch divisions vary by lineage and jokbo; confirm your own branch in your family's records.
김덕지(founder, said to be a prince of Silla King Gyeongsun), 김인후(one of the 18 Sages of Korea, Haseo), 김병로(first Chief Justice), 김성수(Dong-A Ilbo co-founder and Vice President)
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울산 김씨 figures listed by the Presidential Committee or the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators (Minjok Munje Institute).
In the Joseon period the clan divides into the Jang, Jung and Gye branches after the three sons of Heungryeo-gun Kim On (金穩): Dalgeun, Dalwon and Dalji. His wife, of the Yeoheung Min clan, is said to have fled to Jangseong in Jeolla Province to avoid trouble, making Jangseong the clan's best-known base, with villages later forming around South Jeolla's Jangseong, Gochang and Sunchang in North Jeolla, and Jeongja-ri in Ulju County, Ulsan.
Kim In-hu (1510-1560) of Jangseong, the only Honam Confucian enshrined in the Munmyo among the 18 Sages of Korea, is honored at Pilam Seowon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019. The clan is regarded as a leading family of Honam.
In modern times Kim Seong-su, who founded the Dong-A Ilbo and Gyeongseong Textile and acquired Bosung College, and Kim Byeong-ro, the first Chief Justice, are known as members. Wikipedia also lists others such as Kim Gyeong-su, Kim Ik-jung, Kim Sang-hyeop and Kim Jong-in, but their clan affiliation could not be cross-checked here, so they are omitted.
The 2000 census is reported to have counted about 36,000 members (163rd). Details of the founder and the lineage to the middle founder differ by source and are marked as traditional.
The 울산 김씨 clan association can be found in the Korean E-Jokbo Library clan-association directory.
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