Scholar of Tang origin traditionally held to be the founder of the Uiryeong Ok clan; enfeoffed as Lord Uichun, posthumous title Munhye
| Era | 통일신라(전승) |
| Clan | 의령 옥씨 |
Ok Jin-seo (玉眞瑞) is revered as the founder of the Uiryeong Ok clan. Wikipedia describes him as a Hanlin scholar and professor at the national academy who was enfeoffed as Lord Uichun (宜春君); his dates are unknown. His posthumous title is given as Munhye (文惠).
According to tradition, he was one of the eight talented scholars (palchaesa) sent from Tang China at the request of Goguryeo. After Goguryeo fell he went to Silla, taught at its national academy, and was enfeoffed as Lord Uichun, settling at Uiryeong (Uichun). A clan source says he came to Goguryeo as a professor in 635, but no historical record is known that confirms either the date or the route.
Whether he was a historical person, and how he came to settle in Silla, cannot be confirmed from sources, so this is best read as 'it is said'. The records break off for 536 years after the founder, so today's Uiryeong Ok lineage is traced from Ok Eun-jong, a Goryeo-period Changjeong official. See the Uiryeong Ok clan page for the clan overview.
Ok Jin-seo is said to have been one of eight scholars sent from Tang China to Goguryeo. After Goguryeo's fall he reportedly taught at Silla's national academy and was enfeoffed as Lord Uichun. Details about the group of eight scholars are not confirmed in the sources.
Because no records survive after the founder, the clan takes Changjeong-gong Ok Eun-jong, said to have been born in 1171, as the first verifiable ancestor. Ok Sa-on, who passed the civil examination, was a son of Ok An-deok, a 6th-generation descendant of Eun-jong, and his nephew was Ok Go.
There are several theories about the origin of the Ok surname. Wikipedia notes that the 1389 civil-exam graduate appears as 'Wang Sa-on' in one record and 'Ok Sa-on' in another, and presents a theory that some Gaeseong Wang family members changed their surname to Ok in the late Goryeo and early Joseon. This is not established fact, and some dispute it, so it should be read alongside clan sources.
The clan cemetery is said to lie around Sinjeon-ri, Daeui-myeon, Uiryeong, but records of the tombs of the founder and Changjeong-gong are lacking and cannot be confirmed.
All Uiryeong Ok descendants honor him as founder; the documented lineage runs from the mid-founder Ok Eun-jong (Changjeong-gong).