Imgoseowon

About this place

Imgoseowon is a Confucian academy founded in 1553, by the public consensus of the local Confucian community, to honor the virtuous conduct and loyalty of Jeong Mong-ju; it was established in Gocheon-dong, Imgo-myeon. In 1554 it received a royal charter under the name 'Imgo'. Destroyed by fire during the Imjin War, it was relocated to its present site in 1603 and received a royal charter again the following year. In 1643 Jang Hyeon-gwang and in 1787 Hwangbo In were additionally enshrined, and while the academy served the enshrinement of past sages and local education, it was demolished in 1871; in 1919 the Jonyeonggak was built to house the portrait of Jeong Mong-ju and memorial rites were held there. Within the precinct are the shrine, the Jonyeonggak, the lecture hall, the posa (caretaker's quarters), the yusasil, and other buildings; the shrine, Munchungsa, enshrines the spirit tablet of Jeong Mong-ju, and the Jonyeonggak keeps his portrait. The lecture hall consists of a central wooden-floored hall flanked by rooms on both sides and is used for various events held at the academy, gatherings of the Confucian community, and lectures on learning. Among the relics kept at the academy are three portraits of Jeong Mong-ju, 113 woodblocks of the Poeun Munjip (Collected Works of Poeun), 71 woodblocks of the Jibong Yuseol, the Poeun-jip, 11 volumes of the Eosa Seongni Gunseo, and more than 200 other books.