Uisan Seowon

About this place

Uisan Seowon was the fourth Confucian academy established in the Yeongju area. Although its renown was not as prominent as that of the chartered academies Sosu Seowon and Isan Seowon, in the late Joseon period it was counted alongside them as a representative academy of Yeongju. Moreover, Yi Gae-rip and Kim Eung-jo, enshrined in the academy's shrine Jeolhyosa (Gyeongdeoksa), can be regarded as figures who left distinct historical marks through the offices they held and their scholarly achievements. This academy began when local village scholars built Uisan Seodang on the site of Haenguisa in Uisan village (Bunji-georeung-gol), Seonggok 2-ri, in the 2nd year of Gwanghaegun (1610), to cultivate the younger generation. In the 5th year of King Hyeonjong (1664), a shrine was built and the memorial tablet of Seongodang Yi Gae-rip was enshrined, and it was called Jeolhyosa; in the 5th year of King Sukjong (1679), Haksa Kim Eung-jo was additionally enshrined, and it was elevated to an academy. It was abolished during King Gojong's reign, but in 1970 it was restored at its present location and Jeolhyosa was renamed Gyeongdeoksa. Within the academy, Yangjoldang, Uisan Seodang, Naesammun, and the shrine are arranged in a straight line, with each building set slightly off from the others. It became the base of the Confucian students who shaped the public opinion that led the Yangju rural community, and it was an important educational institution that produced many successful examination candidates; even today ancestral rites are held every year on the jungjeong day of the third lunar month, so the tradition of the rites is maintained.