Sunamhakgudang Hall

Sunamhakgudang Hall, also known as Changpyeong Hakgudang, was a place for training talented people in order to promote a Confucian ethos in society. The origins of this hall lie in a temple called Hyangjeoksa, built in the late Goryeo period. When Joseon was founded and adopted a policy of suppressing Buddhism, the temple fell into such disrepair that its monks all scattered. A monk known as Hwanhakdang then gathered the monks again and lectured there, and his disciples later named the place Hakgudang in honour of his wishes. In 1570, the third year of King Seonjo of Joseon, twenty-five clans living in Changpyeong rebuilt it and renamed it a seowon, a Confucian academy, so that they might study under lofty moral principles and the state's civil and military policies while preserving a Confucian ethos; but in 1619, the eleventh year of King Gwanghaegun, it was renamed Hakgudang once again. It was subsequently rebuilt several times, and the present buildings consist of a four-bay main hall and a two-storey, four-bay gate pavilion; it is currently run by eighteen clans. This hall is significant for the way it reflects, on the one hand, the building of temples under Goryeo's Buddhist-promotion policy, and, on the other, the shift to a Confucian ethos once Joseon's founding brought a policy of suppressing Buddhism and revering Confucianism, illustrating, through the training of local talent, the changing values of the region's people.

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Where it is

Region

Damyang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료