The Cheongju Han clan (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 청주 한씨,

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 淸州韓氏) is a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language * ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

. It is also called the House of Han or the Han clan of Cheongju. It is considered one of the most prominent clans since the Gojoseon period. In the

Silla dynasty Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of ...

, all of the Cheongju Hans were part of the seonggol rank. The clan provided the biggest number of generals during the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

and were considered the highest of the yangban class, next to the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Jeonju Yi clan The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their Bon-gwan is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the former House of Yi which ruled the Joseon dynasty and the Korean Empire. Their founder was Yi Han (). His des ...

. The members of the Han clan are descendants of the sage

Jizi Jizi or Qizi or Kizi (; Gija or Kija in Korean) was a semi-legendary * :"Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical." * :"Most orean historianstreat the angunmyth as a later creation." * :"The T ...

(or Gija), who was a noble from the Chinese

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, and rode his white horse and set a nation in "The Farthest East". Their founder was King Jun, the last monarch of the Gija period, during the ancient Gojoseon Kingdom. The nobles with the surname Han were greatly praised, and not to be bothered. The Cheongju Han clan is well-known for the many female members who became royal consorts. They had produced six queens, five princesses consort, three royal concubines, 315 scholars, 12 Sangshin, 14 Gongshin, and 1 Daejejak throughout the Joseon dynasty. Queen Wisuk, the mother of

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

's founder,

Wang Geon Taejo of Goryeo (31 January 877 – 4 July 943), also known as Taejo Wang Geon (; ), was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three ...

, was part of the clan. Another member was

Queen Insu Queen Sohye (舊1437-09-08 - 舊1504-04-27), of the Cheongju Han clan, was the only wife of Crown Prince Uigyeong. She never was the consort of a reigning king. Nevertheless, she was honored as Queen Insu (인수왕후) and later as Queen Dowager ...

, wife of

Crown Prince Uigyeong Crown Prince Uigyeong (; 3 October 1438 – 20 September 1457), personal name Yi Jang () and formerly called as Prince Dowon () was a Crown prince of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Sejo of Joseon and Queen Jeonghui, also the ...

, and the first female author in Korean history, who wrote ''

Naehun ''Naehun'' (Instructions for Women, 내훈, 內訓) is a guidebook for women and the first known book written by a female author in Korea. It is one of the most representative books that reflects the social construction of gender and sexuality ba ...

'', a Confucian morality guidebook for women. Currently, the Cheongju Han is known as a clan that has long been prominent in Korean politics, public service, business and arts.

Genealogy book

The Cheongju Han's genealogy records (''jokbo''; 族譜) written by Han Hyo-jung, Han Hyuk and others in 1617, during the

, is considered important bibliographically. In addition, the overall system and recording method are different from other genealogies, having a feature that places great importance on royal records.

Living members

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ANNUAL MEETING 2009 - Reviving Economic Growth

Han Duck-soo Han Duck-soo (; born 18 June 1949) is a South Korean politician serving as the 44th and current Prime Minister of South Korea since May 2022. Han is the fifth person to serve as the prime minister twice having served as the 38th Prime Minister ...

, the 34th Prime Minister of South Korea *

Han Myeong-sook Han Myeong-sook (born March 24, 1944; ko, 한명숙 ) was the Prime Minister of South Korea from April 2006 to March 2007. She is South Korea's first female prime minister (second female prime minister overall if the acting premiership of Chan ...

, the 33rd Prime Minister of South Korea (as the first female) * Han Min-goo, Minister of National Defense (2014 – 2017) *

Han Kang Han Kang (; born November 27, 1970) is a South Korean writer. She won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2016 for '' The Vegetarian'', a novel about a woman's descent into mental illness and neglect from her family. The novel is ...

, novelist * Han Sung-joo, Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993 – 1994) and Ambassador to the United States (2003 – 2005) *

Han Seung-soo Han Seung-soo (born 28 December 1936) is a South Korean politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 29 February 2008 to 28 September 2009. He was the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special E ...

, the 35th Prime Minister of South Korea and President of the United Nations General Assembly (2001 – 2002) *

Han Terra Han Terra is a Korean-born inventor and musician. She has invented a 24 stringed musical instrument called TeRra, in the style of a traditional kayageum, incorporating artificial intelligence. She started taking piano lessons at the age of four ...

, South Korean

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

Royalty of the Chinese Ming dynasty

* Consort Kanghuizhuangshuli of the Korean Cheongju Han clan (康惠莊淑麗妃) (late 14th century – 1424); married to Yongle Emperor. *Lady Gongshen of the Korean Cheongju Han clan (恭慎夫人清州韓氏) (1410 – 1483); younger sister of Consort Kanghuizhuangshuli; married to

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name " Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively ...

Royalty of the Goryeo dynasty

* Queen Wisuk, mother of

's founder, Wang Geon, King Taejo

Royalty of the Joseon dynasty

Queen Sinui Queen Sinui (Hangul: 신의왕후 한씨, Hanja: 神懿王后韓氏; 1337 – 21 October 1391), of the Cheongju Han clan, was the first wife of Yi Seong-gye (future Taejo of Joseon). She was the mother of King Jeongjong and King Taejong. She ...

Queen Jangsun Queen Jangsun (; 22 February 1445 - 5 January 1462), of the Cheongju Han clan, personal name was Han Naeng-Yi (한냉이) and also known as Crown Princess Consort Jangsun (장순빈) during her lifetime. She was the first wife of Yejong of Joseo ...

Queen Ansun Queen Ansun (18 April 1445 – 3 February 1499) of the Cheongju Han clan, was the second wife and queen consort of King Yejong, the 8th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort from 1468, until her husband's death in 1469, after which she was honou ...

Queen Gonghye Queen Gonghye (Korean: 공혜왕후, Hanja: 恭惠王后; 8 November 1456 – 30 April 1474), of the Cheongju Han clan (Korean: 청주 한씨, Hanja: 淸州韓氏), was the first wife of King Seongjong, 9th monarch of Joseon. She was the Que ...

Queen Inyeol Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

*Royal Consort Gwi-in * Royal Consort Sug-ui * Royal Noble Consort OnConcubine of

King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

. * Princess Uihye (by marriage) * Princess Jeonghye (by marriage) * Princess Gongshin (by marriage) * Princess Jeongshin (by marriage)

References