Yonggung Hyanggyo

About this place

A hyanggyo is a state-built educational institution established to hold rites for eminent Confucian scholars and to provide Confucian education and edification for the local people. Yonggung Hyanggyo was erected in 1398 (the 7th year of King Taejo of Joseon) at a point 100 m east of its present location; after being burned down during the Japanese invasions of 1592, the Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang were rebuilt in 1603 (the 36th year of King Seonjo) and the Sesimnu in 1636 (the 14th year of King Injo), reaching their present state. The outer three-gate (the entrance), the Sesimnu (a resting space), the Myeongnyundang (the place of study), and the Daeseongjeon (the shrine) stand in a straight line. Moreover, it follows the 'hall in front, shrine behind' (jeonhak-humyo) layout, with the Myeongnyundang at the front and the Daeseongjeon at the rear. During the Joseon period, students were taught with land, books, servants, and the like provided by the state, but since the Gabo Reform (1894) only rites have been held.