The Balhae-originated Yeongsun Tae House in the Goryeo~Joseon period - Focusing on the Founder(始祖) Dae Geum-chwi(大金就), and his descendant named Tae Du-nam(太斗南) who revitalized the House

Examined and reconstructed in this article are the lives and actions of two individuals. One is Dae Geum-chwi(大金就), who is believed to have founded the Yeongsun Tae House(永順太氏), while the other is Tae Du-nam(太斗南) who is oftentimes heralded as the middle founder of the house[中興祖]. The primary focus of this endeavor is to determine what kind of lives the people from Balhae (who either came from Balhae themselves or born from them) led during the late Goryeo and early-middle periods of Joseon. In the latter half of the Goryeo period, the regions where people from Balhae were able to (or allowed to) live expanded, and one of the regions which newly appeared as one of the new habitats for them was the Yeongsun-hyeon(永順縣) region under the jurisdiction of the Sangju-mok(尙州牧) magistrate. The Balhae people (who later became to be known as members of the Yeongsun-Tae house) were incorporated into the areal community as local Hyang’ri(鄕吏) clerks at the end of the Goryeo dynasty period, and became part of the local ruling structure. One of the villagers who bore the last name Tae(太) was reportedly rewarded with the title Yeongsun-gun(永順君) for his bald action of capturing an enemy trooper, and descendants of the house came to believe that Dae Geum-chwi was that individual. Later in mid-Joseon, such belief was officialized by Tae Du-nam who lived during Joseon king Jungjong’s reign. For Tae Du-nam, who is generally recognized for his contribution of cementing the foundation of the house, there are two distinctively different observations. Records from the government, such as the Veritable records of Joseon(Shilok), only suggests that he was a mere mid-level governmental official, but the literary figures from the Yeongnam region in the latter half of the Joseon dynasty period left records of praising him as a man of integrity, courage and a moral compass. He is also known to have overseen the funeral for his master, when the master was persecuted by a powerful being in the government and no other disciple was brave enough to dare rush to the care of their fallen master. The Yecheon area where Tae Du-nam’s descendants took root was the home of many renowned houses, and they would have befriended them while becoming part of the culture. They were the ones who were able to rediscover their own heritage through Tae Du-nam’s own writings, during their efforts of compiling the latest version of the familial geneaology records.