Confucianism in Korea
 

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© John Holstein
 
 
 
 
Tongyeong's Chungyeol Memorial Shrine (Chungyeolsa). More photos here.
 
 
 
 
 
Tongyeong's Chakryang Shrine (Chakryangmyo), housing Admiral Yi Sun-shin's spirit tablets. More here.
 
 
 
 
Imho Sowon (an academy for the study of Neo-Confucianism), near Andong. These academies were established by prominent individuals. They are now maintained as memorials to the founder. The family that owns this sowon also owns a manor house several hundred years old, just outside Andong. You can read more about sowons in "Hahoe: Where the River Returns."
 
 
 
The SungGyunGwan: Myeongryundang and Daeseongjeon. (Click here for more photos.)
 
 
 
 
 
The elderly frequently visit Seoul's Chongmyo, the shrine that houses the Lee family (Chosun Dynasty) memorial tablets. See more photos here.
 
 
 
 
 

A 17th-century Confucian study hall Seomi-dong, Pungsan-eup, North Gyeongsang Province. (Click here for more photos.)
 
 
 
 
 
The detached study of a Confucian aristocrat from the 16th century. His manor was in Hahoe, a preserved traditional village, just across the river, in North Gyeongsang Province. (If you'd like to know more about this study and this famous town, see the articles Yin-Yang Hahoe and Hahoe: Where the River Returns.) Click here to see more photos from Hahoe.
 
 
 
 
 
Jongyeonggak, in back of Myeoungryundang. As the library of Sungkyunkwan (the school for those preparing for the higher civil service exam), it was Korea's only library of higher learning until the end of the Chosun dynasty. It was built in 1475, rebuilt twice (in 1514 and 1626), and restored in 1772. Its books are now in the central library of Sungkyunkwan University.
 
 
 
 
 
Bicheondang, on the Sungkyunkwan University campus. It's the secondary site for the higher civil service exam in the Chosun dynasty (the primary site was Myoungryundang) and then it was used for classrooms after the Chosun dynasty and when Sungkyunkwan was converted into a two-year college. Bicheondang was built in 1664, destroyed during the Korean War (1950-1953), then restored in 1988. (See photos of the restoration process here.) It is now being used for the study and activities related to traditional culture. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
Dongmyo, a Taoist shrine, on Chongno St. close to downtown Seoul. See more photos here.
 
 
 
 
 
An ancestral shrine in North Chungcheong Province. Read here about a road trip through this province. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
Another ancestral shrine in North Chungcheong Province. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
One of many well-maintained family ancestral shrines along the highways and byways in the Korean countryside. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
18th-19th centuries Confucian scholar, philosopher, secret inspector for the king, minister of government Dasan Jeong Yag-yong stayed in this mountain shack in haenam, South Cholla province during his exile. In the persecution of Catholics in 1801 he, a Catholic himself, was initially sentenced to execution (along with 300 others), but the sentence was changed to exile. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
Gangjin Hyanggyo, where young students were taught the Confucian classics during the Chosun dynasty (1398-1910). Every town with any self respect had at least one hyanggyo. Click here if you'd like to see a couple more photos. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
Namgang Shrine, Gangjin, South Cholla Province. This was erected to memorialize the 17th-century Confucian scholar U-am SongSi-yeol. The living quarters of the caretaker (who traditionally was a disciple or a descendant of a disciple but is now just a local family) are immediately inside the gate, and the shrine itself is in back of the residence. See the shrine in the following photos.
 
 
 
 
 
The gate to Namgang Shrine. The gate, as luck would have it and as happens with so many of these minor shrines in the provinces, was locked and the caretaker nowhere to be found.
 
 
 
 
 
Nagan Hyanggyo, a Chosun dynasty school where young students learned the Confucian classics. In Nagan County, South Cholla Province. (2006)
 
 
 
 
 
The interior of Nagan Hyanggyo. This school was founded by the government (unlike most others hyanggyos, which were established by individuals) in 1658. On the grounds are a lecture hall, dormitories, and a shrine housing the memorial tablets for Confucious and other prominent Confucian philosophers. (2006)
 
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