Lecture Hall of Nogangseowon Confucian Academy, Nonsan

Nogangseowon Confucian Academy stands facing south-west behind a village, backed by a low ridge that extends from the foot of Hoamsan Mountain in Noseong to the north-east. It occupies a "field-dwelling" (yageohyeong) site: a stream winds round in front of the village, beyond which a wide, open plain stretches out. Such a site on flat land, used to impose a spatial hierarchy, is found mainly in the Giho region. Passing through the hongsalmun (red-spiked gate) at the entrance and then the raised, three-bay outer gate immediately beyond it, one finds the lecture hall standing prominently across the courtyard, flanked in front, left and right, by the east and west dormitories facing one another to form the academic quarter. On higher ground behind the lecture hall, the inner gate and shrine together form an enclosure making up the ritual quarter. The academic quarter lies in front and the ritual quarter behind — the "hakjeon humyo" (school in front, shrine behind) arrangement — with the outer gate, lecture hall, inner gate and shrine set on a single axis and the east and west dormitories placed symmetrically, giving an orderly composition. Although the strict formal layout had broken down at many academies by the time Nogangseowon was built in the late seventeenth century, it retains the rigorous ordering of earlier periods; notably, too, the inner gate consists not of a single structure but of three separate buildings, clearly distinguishing the paths of spirits and of people in accordance with ritual propriety, an unusual and eye-catching feature. Nogangseowon was founded in 1675 (the first year of King Sukjong) on the proposal of Kim Su-hang, to honour the scholarship and virtue of Yun Hwang and to provide Confucian education for the local people. After it received a royal charter plaque in 1682 (the eighth year of King Sukjong), Yun Hwang's son, Seokho Yun Mun-geo, was added among the enshrined figures, and in 1723 (the third year of King Gyeongjong), Noseo Yun Seon-geo and his son, Myeongjae Yun Jeung, were likewise enshrined. In 1717 (the forty-third year of King Sukjong), following a political dispute, Yun Seon-geo and Yun Jeung, father and son, were stripped of their official ranks and even the charter plaque was removed; when their ranks were restored in 1722 (the second year of King Gyeongjong), the plaque was likewise reinstated. The academy was not demolished even under the Daewongun's 1871 (the eighth year of Emperor Gojong) order abolishing Confucian academies, and it has occupied its original site for more than 350 years. The lecture hall measures five bays across the front, with an added front eave, and three bays deep, making it one of the largest lecture halls among the Confucian academies of South Chungcheong province. In plan, a large open wooden-floored hall (daecheong) occupies the centre, flanked by ondol (heated-floor) rooms on both sides; the three bays of the daecheong are evenly spaced, while the flanking ondol rooms are set somewhat wider than the daecheong bays. Across the whole front of the building are hinged four-panel lattice doors with a curved lower rail, and between the daecheong and the ondol rooms on each side, at the front, are two-panel opaque-paper (maengjangji) hinged doors. This style of maengjangji hinged doors between the daecheong and the ondol rooms is an old feature also found in the lecture halls of Sosuseowon Confucian Academy (rebuilt 1602) and Dodongseowon Confucian Academy (relocated 1605). Structurally, natural stone foundation stones are set on a platform of neatly coursed long dressed stones, on which round columns with a slight entasis are erected. Because the columns are relatively tall, the proportion between the column framework and the roof is slightly awkward, but this is thought to have been done to give the building an imposing presence as the central structure of the academic quarter. In the added eave section, square columns are set on square foundation stones. The bracket sets are of the one-purlin-step, three-wing-bracket (ikgong) type: the first and second wing brackets are of the upturned form with their outer ends cut at an angle and carved above with a lotus bud and a lotus flower respectively, while the third wing bracket is cloud-shaped and carved on top with scrolling foliage. The beam ends below are likewise carved in the cloud-shaped pattern. The bracket arms projecting from the columns (cheomcha) have both ends cut at a slant and their lower edges decorated with a lotus-head motif, giving an antique appearance. The carved decorative struts between the columns are ornately carved on the front but left plain, as simple square boards, on the rear, for practicality. The roof framework above the daecheong is a five-purlin structure, its natural yet massive main beam adding to the building's grandeur. The roof is a double-eaved gable roof, with a short additional eave — referred to in ritual texts as "yeong" (榮) — hanging like an eyebrow beneath the wind board of the gable. Such an additional eave is a distinctive feature also found at the Eungdodang hall of the nearby Donamseowon Confucian Academy, and is one of the building's indispensable characteristics. Since its foundation in 1675, Nogangseowon has never been relocated and was not demolished under the Daewongun's abolition order, making it a representative academy of Giho-region Confucianism; sited on open farmland with a hakjeon-humyo layout imposing a ritual order, it well illustrates the layout characteristics of the Giho region. The lecture hall is among the largest in South Chungcheong province, and its platform and foundation stones, suitably shaped for the building, together with its one-purlin-step, three-wing-bracket form combining ornateness with restraint, stand out. The "yeong" attached to the gable roof is an especially rare feature: besides protecting the building from wind and rain damage and visually stabilising the appearance of an awkwardly tall structure, it subtly adds the curved beauty of a hipped-and-gabled roof without sacrificing simplicity, revealing an outstanding technique. The hinged four-panel maengjangji lattice doors with curved lower rails between the daecheong and the rooms are a type found mainly in buildings of the early seventeenth century, adding a sense of antiquity. In this way, the lecture hall of Nogangseowon offers valuable insight into the distinctive stylistic features and regional character of Confucian architecture in the Giho region, as well as the period characteristics of academy architecture in the late seventeenth century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Nonsan, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물