Founding ancestor of the Jangnyeong-gong line of the Jeonju Ryu, posthumously enfeoffed as Earl of Wansan
| Life | 미상 ~ 미상(고려 말) |
| Era | 고려 말 |
| Clan | 전주 류씨 |
Ryu Seup (柳濕) is said to have lived in Jeonju in late Goryeo and is the founding ancestor of the Jangnyeong-gong line, the most numerous of the three lines of the Jeonju Ryu. His birth and death years are not recorded. All five of his sons are said to have passed the examinations and been posthumously named censors (jangnyeong), while he himself was posthumously enfeoffed as Earl of Wansan (Wansan being an old name of Jeonju), which is why his descendants took Jeonju as their seat and counted him as the first generation.
Sources differ on where he came from. The 1952 genealogy cited in local-culture material from Wanju says the line split from the Munhwa Ryu and that Ryu Seup moved to Jeonju in late Goryeo, but a view that the clan is a native Jeonju surname is also noted. The Chungsuk-gong line (traced through the epitaph of Ryu Bang-heon) and the Hyeongam-gong line (founder Ryu Ji) have different founders, and the three lines have each kept their own genealogy.
One of his daughters married the Joseon founding merit subject Sim Hyo-saeng, and some commentators see this marriage as the background to his posthumous title, though this is not certain. His five sons are given as Geuk-gang, Geuk-seo, Geuk-su, Geuk-je and Geuk-geo; descendants of the second son Geuk-seo include early Joseon figures such as Ryu Ui-son, Ryu Heon and Ryu Sung-jo.
All five of Ryu Seup's sons, Geuk-gang, Geuk-seo, Geuk-su, Geuk-je and Geuk-geo, are said to have passed the examinations in late Goryeo and to have been posthumously named censors. The second son Ryu Geuk-seo is said to have reached posts such as director of the Hall of Worthies, and his son Ryu Bin (1370-1448) and grandson Ryu Ui-son rose in early Joseon.
Heritage material describes the Hoamjaesa lodge that tends Geuk-seo's tomb and records a tradition that Ryu Bin kept mourning beside his father's grave.
The 'Ryu Seup (1367-1439)' on Korean Wikipedia belongs to the Goheung Ryu, a second son of Ryu Tak who took part in the Tsushima expedition under Sejong; he is a different person from the Jeonju Ryu ancestor. Check the seat of origin to avoid confusion.
His tomb and ritual lodge (Sisajae) once stood at Buntodong, Yulgok-ri, Gosan-myeon, Wanju; in 2010 the tomb is reported to have been joined with that of his wife, Lady Choe (Grand Lady of Samhan), in Inhu-dong, Jeonju (Digital Wanju Culture Encyclopedia).
He is credited with five sons (Geuk-gang, Geuk-seo, Geuk-su, Geuk-je, Geuk-geo) and a son-in-law, Sim Hyo-saeng; his descendants split into sub-lines such as Hoeheon-gong, Nakbong-gong, Sugok and Mukgye-gong. See the Jeonju Ryu page and your own genealogy for details.