Founding ancestor of the Cheongju Han clan (Goryeo Merit Subject Painted on the Wall of the Three Han)
| Era | 고려 초 |
| Clan | 청주 한씨 |
Han Ran is the progenitor of the Cheongju Han clan. Traditionally described as a distant descendant of U-ryang, said to be a descendant of Gija, he was a local strongman based in Sangdang (present-day Cheongju), where, around age forty, he is said to have settled and built the Munongjeong pavilion on a village hill while developing farmland.
In 928 he is said to have welcomed Wang Geon with military honors, supplying troops, horses, and provisions, and to have joined the campaign against Gyeon Hwon that helped unify the Later Three Kingdoms, for which he was honored as a Merit Subject of Dynastic Founding and rose to the high court rank of Grand Chancellor. His descendants accordingly took Cheongju as their clan seat.
Among his notable descendants are Han Hwak (1400-1456), a first-class merit subject under King Sejo who rose to second state councillor and whose daughter became Queen Sohye, and Han Myeong-hoe (1415-1487), likewise a first-class merit subject who rose to chief state councillor and married two daughters into the royal family — both key figures tying the clan closely to the early Joseon royal house.
His descendants took Cheongju as their ancestral seat and carried on as one of the leading families of the Three Han.