Jungjeongdang Lecture Hall, Shrine, and Walls of Dodongseowon Confucian Academy, Dalseong

A seowon was a private local educational institution of the Joseon period where memorial rites were held for revered scholars and Confucian learning was taught. Dodongseowon Confucian Academy was first built in 1568, the first year of King Seonjo, to honour the scholarship and virtue of Kim Goeng-pil, posthumously titled Mungyeong-gong, and was then called Ssanggyeseowon. It burned down during the Japanese invasions, however, and the shrine was rebuilt on its present site in 1604, the 37th year of King Seonjo. In 1607, the 40th year of King Seonjo, the king personally wrote the name plaque reading "Dodongseowon", making it a sa'aek seowon, one granted a royal name plaque. It is one of 47 seowon exempted from the 1871 order of Emperor Gojong, in the eighth year of his reign, that abolished most such academies. Jungjeongdang, the lecture hall and main building for ceremonies and teaching, is five bays wide and two and a half bays deep, with a gable roof that, seen from the side, takes the shape of the Chinese character 人 (person). The bracket sets supporting the eaves are simply made, set only above the columns. The end bays on either side are heated ondol rooms, each fronted by a small wooden veranda, while the central three bays form a broad wooden-floored hall connecting to the verandas on both sides. The shrine, the main building of the ritual precinct, is three bays wide and three bays deep and houses the memorial tablet of Kim Goeng-pil. Like the lecture hall, it has a gable roof and matching bracket style, and each of its three front bays is fitted with a pair of plank doors. The wall enclosing the lecture hall is a matdam, a paired wall built using roof tiles, and is very beautiful. Simply and modestly built, this is a well-preserved architectural heritage of a mid-Joseon seowon with a long tradition.

AI Translation

Visiting

Information

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Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Dalseong, Daegu

Designation

Treasure · 보물