Gaeryeonghyanggyo Local Confucian School Daeseongjeon Hall

A hyanggyo is a local Confucian school established by the state to hold memorial rites for Confucius and other sages, and to educate and edify the people of the region. Gaeryeong Hyanggyo was first built at the foot of Gwanhaksan Mountain in the fourth year of King Seongjong of Joseon (1473). It was moved east during the reign of King Gwanghaegun (r. 1608–1623), then relocated to its present site in the third year of King Heonjong (1837). It was closed during the Japanese colonial period and merged with Geumsan Hyanggyo, before being restored in 1946; it has since undergone repeated repairs down to the present. Passing through Oesammun, the outer gate, one finds Myeongnyundang, the lecture hall, standing in front; beyond it, through Naesammun, the inner gate, stands Daeseongjeon, the shrine hall where the memorial rites are held. Daeseongjeon enshrines the spirit tablets of Confucius together with scholars of China and Korea. It measures four bays across the front and three bays deep, with a gable roof shaped like the character 人 (person) when seen from the side. The brackets supporting the roof eaves are carved in the ikgong style, in the form of a bird's wings. During the Joseon period the state provided land, slaves and books to support the teaching of students here, but today the educational function has disappeared and only the memorial rites continue.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료