Unggok Seowon (Gochang)

About this place

Unggok Seowon can be visited via the Unggok Wetland Trail by taking the visitor train from the eco-friendly parking lot and disembarking at the last stop. Originally a shrine of the Seonsan Kim family, it was founded to commemorate the scholarship and virtue of Zhu Xi of China and Kim Je, Kim Ju, Kim Sukja, and Kim Jongjik of Korea. Because the toponym Jaeyeongsan and Unggok resembled the place where Zhu Xi lectured, the clan relocated the seowon from Dangsan to Unggok where their descendants reside, also enshrining Zhu Xi's tablet. Demolished in 1868 under Heungseon Daewongun's order, it was re-established by Confucian scholars and descendants in 1905 and restored in 1924. In 1981, Unggok-ri was submerged by the construction of Asan Lake, leaving only the seowon behind while its residents departed. A plaque at Unggok Seowon reads 'Sinan Gu-ga,' meaning 'the house that has carried on Zhu Xi's teaching.' This Chinese character inscription is said to be in the handwriting of the calligrapher Kim Jeong-hui (Chusa).