Cheongam Seowon

About this place

Cheongam Seowon is a Confucian academy that enshrines Ryu Po (1375-1448), Ryu Dal-jon (1395-1466), Bak Nul (1448-1528), Yi Gyeom (1452-1507), Ryu Jong-in (1516-1545), Hong Yak-chang (1535-1592), Nam Yeong (1548-1606), Jeong Yun-hae (1553-1618), Bak Seong-min (1603-1666), Yi Yeong-gap (1622-1676), and Nam Geun-myeong (1676-1734). In 1752 (the 28th year of King Yeongjo), Dogye Jeongsa and Agok Jeongsa were merged to establish Gyeonghyeonsa Shrine, and the academy was named 'Cheongam.' In 1868 (the 5th year of King Gojong), Cheongam Seowon was demolished under the order to abolish seowon, and an altar was set up in its place. A lecture hall was built in 1978, and restoration work on the academy began in 1991 and was completed in 1992. Cheongam Seowon is arranged in a straight-line layout with the shrine on the left and the study hall on the right. Gyeonghyeonsa, the shrine, has a gable roof measuring three kan across the front and one kan on the side. It enshrines the memorial tablets of eleven figures, including Ryu Po and Ryu Dal-jon. The Cheongam lecture hall, to the right of the shrine, has a hip-and-gable roof measuring four kan across the front and two kan on the side. The building was reconstructed during the restoration. The outer three-gate to the left of the lecture hall is a raised gate (soseul-daemun). In addition, a monument to Nam Geun-myeong's promotion of learning stands at the entrance of the academy. Among the hanging boards of Cheongam Seowon are the enshrinement text of Agok-risa, the ridge-beam-raising text for the relocation of Dogye Jeongsa, and the record of the reconstruction of Cheongam Seowon. The enshrinement text of Agok-risa was composed when Agok-risa was founded and four sages were enshrined. The record of the reconstruction of Cheongam Seowon is an enshrinement text documenting the restoration to the present scale of the academy, composed in 1992.