Yeonak Seowon

About this place

Yeonak Seowon is a late Joseon-period Confucian academy located in Jicheon-dong, Sangju. It was built to enshrine Park Eon-seong, Kim Eon-geon (1511–1571), Kang Eung-cheol (1562–1635), Kim Gak (1536–1610), Jo Gwang-byeok (1566–1642), and Kang Yong-ryang (1608–1676). Park Eon-seong lost his grandmother at the age of twelve and completed the three-year mourning, and was such a devoted son that he even declined an official post in order to care for his mother. In 1624 (2nd year of King Injo), the townspeople petitioned to commend Kim Eon-geon for his filial conduct, and he was posthumously appointed as an inspector (gamchal). When the Japanese invasions broke out, Kang Eung-cheol raised a militia and defended Sangju; indignant at the tyranny of Prince Gwanghae, he retired and spent the rest of his life reading and writing. Kim Gak was the son of Kim Eon-geon; when the Japanese invasions broke out, he raised a militia in Sangju and achieved military feats. Jo Gwang-byeok, a disciple of Ryu Seong-ryong (1542–1607), raised a righteous army when the invasions broke out and rendered distinguished service. Kang Yong-ryang was the son of Kang Eung-cheol; for upholding righteousness after the Manchu invasion of 1636, he was posthumously appointed as Third Minister of Works (Gongjo Champui). The shrine of Yeonak Seowon, Changdeoksa, has a gable roof with a front of three kan and a side of one kan, and was built in 1987 when the academy was restored. It holds the spirit tablets of Park Eon-seong, Kim Eon-geon, Kang Eung-cheol, Kim Gak, Jo Gwang-byeok, and Kang Yong-ryang. The front of the shrine is currently used as farmland. The three-gate through which one enters the shrine courtyard is a raised gate (soseul-daemun). The lecture hall has a hip-and-gable roof with a front of four kan and a side of two kan; the central two kan form the main bay, floored with plank flooring, and the front is fitted with latticed four-panel doors. Since the plaque of Jicheon Seodang also hangs there, it is presumed that when Yeonak Seowon was demolished and restored, a new lecture hall could not be built due to lack of funds, so the building of Jicheon Seodang is being used together.