Incheon Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a local Confucian school established by the state to enshrine the memorial tablets of Confucian sages and hold rites in their honour, while also providing education to the local populace; in the Joseon period such schools received land, slaves and books from the state to teach their students. The exact date when Incheon Hyanggyo was first built is unknown, but it is said to have been repaired in the mid-15th century. The main buildings surviving today appear to date from the late Joseon period, and the Daeseongjeon Hall, Myeongnyundang Hall and the three-gate entrance (Sammun) were repaired in 1976. Daeseongjeon, Dongmu, Seomu, Myeongnyundang, and the east and west dormitories, Dongjae and Seojae, all survive. At the rear stand Daeseongjeon and the Dongmu and Seomu halls, forming the ritual space, while at the front, beyond the inner three-gate (Naesammun), stand Myeongnyundang, the educational space, and the student dormitories Dongjae and Seojae — an arrangement known as jeonhak-hubyo, education in front and shrine behind. The hyanggyo continues to this day to fulfil both its educational role, teaching traditional culture such as character-building and etiquette, and its ritual role, enshrining the memorial tablets of the sages and performing rites for them.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Michuhol-gu, Incheon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산