Gwallan Seowon

About this place

The Gwallan Seowon in Yongseong-myeon, Gyeongsan, is a seowon founded to commemorate Yi Eon-jeok, a scholar of the late Joseon period. In 1660, by the common resolve of local Confucians who revered Yi Eon-jeok's virtue and learning, it was founded and his spirit tablet was enshrined; its shrine was later repaired in 1715 and 1743, and it served a part in honoring past sages and in local education. After it was demolished in 1869 by the Daewongun's order abolishing the seowon, its name was changed to a seodang (village study hall) and it was used solely as a place for Confucian students to pursue their studies. The buildings on the grounds include a three-bay lecture hall, a two-building, five-bay storehouse, and the main gate. The lecture hall has a wooden-floored hall in the center with side rooms on either side, and it was used for various events at the academy, gatherings of Confucians, and scholarly debate. One of the storehouse buildings was where sacrificial food was prepared for the memorial rites, and the other was used to store ritual implements.