Yeongamhyanggyo Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a local educational institution established by the state to hold memorial rites for Confucius and other sages and to educate and morally instruct local residents. This one was first built in 1420, the second year of King Sejong of Joseon. It was destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasions of 1592-98 (the Imjin War) and again in a fire in 1918, being rebuilt each time, but it suffered the misfortune of burning down completely once more during the Korean War. The buildings standing today were rebuilt in stages: the Daeseongjeon Hall in 1951, the Dongjae and Seojae dormitories for students in 1963, and the Myeongnyundang lecture hall in 1969, with the remaining buildings constructed in succession afterwards. The school has an unusual layout in which the educational space and the ritual space are arranged side by side, east and west. The Myeongnyundang, the lecture hall where students gathered to study, measures four bays across the front and two bays along the side. The Daeseongjeon, which enshrines the spirit tablets of Confucius and sages of China and Korea, is modestly adorned. There is also an inner gate (naesammun) separating the two spaces, and a square pond can be seen within the grounds. During the Joseon period the school received land, slaves and books from the state to support its teaching, but today it no longer functions as a school and retains only its function of holding memorial rites.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료