Gugang Seowon

About this place

This is a Confucian academy that enshrines the portrait and memorial tablet of Ikjae Yi Je-hyeon in honor of his scholarship and virtuous conduct. Yi Je-hyeon was a scholar and statesman of the late Goryeo period. As a scholar, he was an outstanding Confucian who played a crucial role in receiving and developing Neo-Confucianism. He also attained mastery in literature: he left many poems and prose works and advanced Goryeo's literature in Classical Chinese, raising it to a higher level. He likewise left many achievements in historiography. His extant writings are the ten volumes of 'Ikjae Nango' and the two volumes of 'Yeogong Paeseol'. Gugang Seowon was originally built as a portrait hall for Yi Je-hyeon during the reign of King Gongmin of Goryeo (r. 1351–1374), and was rebuilt as an academy in the 12th year of King Sukjong (1686). However, it was closed under the seowon abolition decree in the 8th year of King Gojong (1871), and was restored by local Confucians in 1904. In its layout, the space is divided into the shape of the character 田 and enclosed by earthen walls. On the left, the outer three-gate, the lecture hall, the inner three-gate, and the shrine are arranged along the same line; on the right stand the caretaker's house and the scripture pavilion. Inside the scripture pavilion are preserved the Ikjae portrait and the woodblocks of the Ikjae Collection. It has served to hold rites for sages and to contribute to local education, and rites are held every year in the second and eighth lunar months. (Source: Korea Heritage Service)