Envoy of Tang origin traditionally held to be the founder of the Yeongyang Nam clan; originally named Kim Chung, honorific Yeong-ui-gong
| Life | 712 ~ 782 |
| Era | 통일신라(전승) |
| Clan | 영양 남씨 |
Nam Min (南敏) is revered as the founder of the Yeongyang Nam clan. He is said to have been Kim Chung (金忠), a man of Tang China. Wikipedia gives his dates as born in Runan in 712 and died in Silla in 782, but these rest on tradition and vary by source. His honorific title is Yeong-ui-gong (英毅公).
According to tradition, he was a Tang envoy sent to Japan who, on the way back, was caught in a storm and was washed ashore near Chuksan (Jukdo) in present-day Yeongdeok, then settled in Silla. The clan association dates this to the 14th year of King Gyeongdeok (755). The king, because he had come from Runan, granted him the surname Nam ('south'), changed his name to Min (敏), and gave him Yeongyang County as a fief.
His eldest son Kim Seok-jung was born before the surname was granted and kept the Kim name, becoming the founder of the Yeongyang Kim. A tradition holds that three of his descendants, the brothers Hong-bo, Gun-bo and Gwang-bo, opened the Yeongyang, Uiryeong and Goseong lines of the Nam in Goryeo, and the three seats share Nam Min as common founder. All of this is tradition and should be read as 'it is said'. See the Yeongyang Nam clan page for the clan overview.
Nam Min is said to have been an envoy returning from Japan who was blown ashore around Chuksan in Yeongdeok and then naturalized in Silla. The story that King Gyeongdeok gave him the surname Nam, from Runan, is widely told.
His eldest son Kim Seok-jung, born before the surname was granted, is said to have kept the Kim name and founded the Yeongyang Kim. It is an unusual tradition of one family splitting into two surnames.
It is said that in the reign of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo the brothers Nam Hong-bo, Nam Gun-bo and Nam Gwang-bo opened three lines: Hong-bo for Yeongyang, the descendants of Gun-bo for Uiryeong, and Gwang-bo for Goseong, though generation records differ by source. For the Uiryeong line see the Uiryeong Nam clan page.
His tomb is said to lie at Dongbu-ri, Yeongyang-eup, below Buyongbong Peak of Mt. Irwol, with rites held on the 10th day of the tenth lunar month (or an autumn rite). Confirm schedules with the clan association.
His descendants continue in the Yeongyang, Uiryeong and Goseong Nam, while his eldest son Kim Seok-jung is said to have founded the Yeongyang Kim.