Imcheonseowon Confucian Academy, Andong

Imcheonseowon was built to commemorate Kim Seong-il (pen name Hakbong, 1588–1593), a Joseon-dynasty scholar-official who served during the reign of King Seonjo. A disciple of Yi Hwang (pen name Toegye), Kim Seong-il passed the munkwa civil service examination in 1568 and went on to hold posts including jwarang (a junior official) in the Ministries of Personnel and War, Inspector-General of Hamgyeong Province, Daesaseong (head of the National Confucian Academy), and Deputy Director of the Hongmungwan (Office of Special Advisers). During the Imjin War he served as Choyusa (pacification commissioner) of Gyeongsang Province and as governor of the left and right circuits of Gyeongsang Province, actively supporting and organising the righteous-army activities of figures such as Gwak Jae-u. Devoting himself wholly to overcoming the national crisis - including by reconciling government troops with the righteous armies to strengthen their combined fighting power - he died at his post at Jinjuseong Fortress. In 1607, the fortieth year of King Seonjo, a shrine called Imcheonhyangsa was built at Imha-hyeon to enshrine his spirit tablet, and in 1618, the tenth year of King Gwanghaegun, it received a royal charter as Imcheonseowon. In 1847, the thirteenth year of King Heonjong, it was relocated to Eomgok village, west of Seongmunjeongsa, but in 1868, the fifth year of Emperor Gojong, it was demolished under Heungseon Daewongun's order abolishing seowon academies. It was restored on its present site in 1908 through the collective effort of local Confucian scholars. Heunggyodang, the academy's lecture hall, is a tiled-roofed building with a hip-and-gable roof, five bays wide and two bays deep, with an open wooden-floored hall (daecheong) at its centre and a heated ondol room spanning the full width on either side. It stands on a foundation of natural stone, with natural stone plinths bearing individual pillars, and above its grid-patterned wooden floor the roof frame uses a five-purlin (oryangga) structure, a relatively solid and accomplished technique. A large crossbeam rests on the heads of the pillars, supporting king-post struts, and decorative bracket struts (podaegong) are fitted into the ridge-purlin support resting on the heads of those king-post struts.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Andong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물