Yongin Local Confucian School

A hyanggyo is a public educational institution established in the provinces during the Joseon period, where ceremonies were held for Confucius, the scholar of China's Spring and Autumn period, and various sages, and where local people were educated. A hyanggyo is made up of Daeseongjeon, the hall enshrining Confucius, Dongmu and Seomu, the east and west shrines for former sages, Myeongnyundang, the hall where students studied, and Dongjae and Seojae, the east and west dormitories where they lodged. Yongin Local Confucian School is presumed to have been founded in 1400. It was subsequently relocated three times and was destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasions of 1592. Its buildings were later restored and repaired on numerous occasions. Through these three relocations, the school was moved to its present site in 1894. Depending on the period, it has comprised Daeseongjeon, an inner samunmun gate, a hall for preparing sacrificial rites, a storehouse for ritual vessels, Myeongnyundang, the Dongjae and Seojae dormitories, an outer samunmun gate, and a hongsalmun, a red-painted gate marking a site of honour. During the Joseon period, hyanggyo schools were supported by the state with land, slaves and books to teach their students, but today most have lost their educational role and retain only their ceremonial function. Yongin Local Confucian School, however, was used as Myeongnyun School and an ordinary school in the modern period, and today it continues to serve as a space for citizens' education in traditional culture, through its affiliated Myeongnyun University, programmes in loyalty and filial piety, and lectures on contemporary literature.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료