Pyongsan Shin clan

The Pyeongsan Shin clan (Korean: 평산 신씨) is an aristocratic yangban clan which originates from Korea. The clan was key in helping the foundation of the Goryeo Kingdom in the 10th century. Although the clan gained its initial power during Goryeo Dynasty, it became less prominent during the Joseon era.

Not all Koreans with the family name Shin today belong to the Pyeongsan Shin clan. Only about 600,000 Shins, or about 70% of all Shins hail from this clan. Others belong to other unrelated clans, such as the Goryeong Shin clan, who produced such 19th and 20th century notables as Shin Chae-ho.

Painting of Sa An-Do : Shin Sung-Gyeom hitting a goose with an arrow above Pyeongsan, Korea

Clan history during the Goryeo period (918-1392)

The Pyeongsan Shin clan is a Korean yangban (aristocratic) family, which takes its root during the 10th century Goryeo dynasty. At the beginning of the Goryeo period, the country was divided in several kingdoms fighting for supremacy over the Korean peninsula.

The founder of the clan is generally accepted to be General Shin Sung-gyeom, who helped King Wang Geon found the Goryeo Kingdom by dethroning the tyrant Gung Ye, alongside Hyeon Gyeong, Hong Yu and Bok Ji-geom in 918.

As described on an official description plate at his memorial shrine in the province of Gangwon-do, Shin Sung-gyeom died around 927 in a battle in modern-day Daegu, fighting bravely in the king's clothes to save King Wang Geon (also referred to as King Taejo), who formally founded the Goryeo Kingdom in the same year. After his death, the King bestowed upon Shin's son and Shin's brother the high aristocratic title of Jangjolgong.

According to the legend, the clan name of Pyeongsan Shin was given to Shin Sung-gyeom before his death, during a hunting trip with King Wang Geon. A skillful archer, Shin successfully hit "the left wing of the third goose among the flying geese over there." Wang Geon was impressed and bestowed Shin with the land area, Pyeongsan, where the geese were flying over, and that is how the family line of Shin of Pyeongsan originated. The land of Pyeongsan is currently situated in the North Korean province of Hwanghae.

Clan history during the Joseon period (1392-1910)

During the Joseon Dynasty, the Pyeongsan Shin family developed into one a myriad of yangban families. As other yangbans of the time, members of the Pyeongsan Shin clan successfully passed the gwageo, or national civil service examinations. Preferential clan member positions started within the mugwa (military positions), most notably during the Hideyoshi Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598). Later, the clan choices tipped towards the mungwa (literary positions) when the balance of power shifted from the military to the bureaucrats.

Name concepts

At first, family names were limited to kings and aristocrats during the Goryeo dynasty, but gradually spread to the commoners during the later Goryeo and Joseon periods. To dissociate themselves from commoners, yangbans devised a complex system of names, also driven by Confucian customs imported from China. Clan members however always kept their land origin (e.g. Pyeongsan) and their main branch division name (also called pa in Korean). The pa often referred to an aristocratic or authority title bestowed upon the branch founder, and served to denote the origin of the clan member. One such powerful clan branch is the Sagangong pa, which originated by Shin Ho during the Joseon dynasty{{.

It is however only after the Japanese occupation that the concept of family names was enforced to the whole population, through the Japonification of family names (see Korean name).

During the japonification, the most popular names were chosen by many Koreans (Kim and Lee), as they were associated with the most powerful families at the time. The family name of Shin (Korean name) was comparatively chosen by fewer Koreans, though a large portion of the current Korean population with the surname Shin most likely do not belong to the original Pyeongsan Shin branches .

Sagangong Branch of the Pyeongsan Shin Clan in Korea

A famous branch of the Pyeongsan Shin clan is the Sagangong branch, which originated with Shin Ho in the Joseon Dynasty. The later part of the branch is described below, based on documents issued by the Korean Embassy in Belgium.

One notable and direct descendant of Shin Ho was the military commander Lord Shin Seok-Yeong (b.~1730), son of Lord Shin Sae-Gwan (b.~1700). Lord Shin O-Seon (b.~1755), son of Seok-Yeong, was a Government legislator, later rewarded for his work with the position of Director of the Royal Orchestra. Lord Shin Gi-Jae (b.~1780), son of Shin O-Seon, served as Vice-Minister of the Interior.

Shin Gi-Jae had a son, Lord Shin Gwang-Hyun (b.~1805), who held several high-ranking positions in the Government at the time. After a successful military career, first as General of the Royal Guard, then as Vice-Supreme Commander of the Army, Shin Gi-Jae held successful positions in the civil service as Minister of the Interior and Attorney-General.

Lord Shin Jeong-Gyoon (b. 1839), son of Shin Gi-Jae, held as his father several successful military and civil positions in the Government. Shin Jeong-Gyoon served as Commander of Army and later as Attorney-General and County-Governor of Yesan.

Shin Jeong-Gyoon had a son, Prince Shin Tae-Yu (1865–1941), who married one of the younger nieces of King Gojong of Korea. When presented to the King, Prince Tae-Yu bowed, as was customary at the time, and was offered to drink a bowl of Soju (a strong Korean alcohol beverage). Amazed at the speed at which Tae-Yu drank, the King offered three consecutive bowls, all drank swiftly by Tae-Yu. Impressed, the King asked Tae-Yu to show his face closely and was pleased at Tae-Yu's appearance. The King later offered Tae-Yu the hand of Princess Ai-Ki, one of his young nieces. Tae-Yu worked as a high-ranking legislator and later became Minister of the Interior, where he personally headed the Bureau of Telegraphy (a novelty at the time in Korea).

Following Korean Confucian traditions, Tae-Yu decided to leave his office for several years, due to the consecutive deaths of his father (Shin Jeong-Kyun, 1839-?) and mother. During that time, Tae-Yu concentrated on his poetry. Tae-Yu was particularly known for his poetic talents and his unorthodox manner to dress in blue, while typical Korean gentlemen used to dress in white at the time.

Tae-Yu had one son, Prince Shin Yun (1892–1973), who became a prominent member of the Korean civil service. Interestingly, Yun was one of the first few Koreans to graduate from the Korea YMCA in Seoul, which influenced many members of the Korean independence movement at the time. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Shin Yun was offered to collaborate with the occupants, in return for the lower Japanese aristocratic title of baron. This practice was common at the time among yangban families. However, pressured by his father Tae-Yu, Shin Yun refused the offer. This refusal later gained him the respect (and saved the family reputation), when the Japanese occupation finished in 1945. Shin Yun later climbed to the position of Vice-Minister of Finance.

Shin Yun had one son, Prince Shin Ki-Young (1914- ), who became a prominent civil servant. An intellectual man and Doctor in Law, Ki-Young was appointed President of the Donghwa public company, one of the largest chains of department stores at the time. Ki-Young retired after 1970 outside Seoul, where he still lives. Shin Ki-Young married Kwon Yeong-Ja (1926- ), a descendant of the Andong Kwon clan.

Sagangong Branch of the Pyeongsan Shin Clan in Europe

Shin Ki-Young had four children : Shin In-Sook (1949- ), Shin Won-Sik (1952- ), Shin Jung-Sik (1954- ) and Shin Hyo-Sook (1957- ). In 1974, upon completing her education at the Yonsei University in Seoul, Shin In-Sook emigrated to Brussels, Belgium, where she currently resides. Shin In-Sook had one son, Shin Ee-Sup (1975- ), also known as Jonathan Shin, who took the family name from his Korean side.

The Pyeongsan Shin family is one of the many foreign noble families officially residing in the Kingdom of Belgium, where the family name has been gallicised to Shin de Pyeongsan (see also Belgian nobility). Belgium is one of three countries in the world where you can become an aristocrat by proving a distinguishing accomplishment .

Further reading

Lee, Ki-baik (1984). A New History of Korea.