Jiseondang Study Hall

About this place

Jiseondang is a memorial hall and study hall (seodang) of the Baenam Park clan. It was built by the descendants of Park Jiyeong, a mid-Joseon scholar, in accordance with his wishes. The Park clan's ancestors originally lived in Geumsan, but during the Imjin War (1592) they fled to Naegeum village and, as they came to settle there, devoted themselves to the education of their descendants. Jiseondang was founded by Jiyeong's descendants to honor his memory and to educate the youth of the local area, but the exact date of its founding is uncertain. Based on the Jiseondang Memorial Record (地善堂記) written by Park Sangttak inside the hall, which bears the inscription 'Chongjeong 3 Imjin' (崇禎三壬辰), it is surmised that it was built in 1772 (the 48th year of King Yeongjo). From this hall, Jeong Jaeyeong, who passed the civil service examination in 1816 and rose to the post of Vice Minister of Works, and Park Jedae, who passed the civil service examination in 1840, and five other civil service graduates were produced. The building is a tile-roofed hip-and-gabled (팔작) structure, four bays wide and two bays deep.