Isan Seowon

About this place

Isan Seowon was the first Confucian academy established in the Yeongju area. Since ancient times Yeongju had a strong spirit of revering literature and the arts, but as there was no official building for cultivating scholarship, a hall of the town was borrowed and used each time. An Sang, the newly appointed magistrate, gathered the wishes of the local scholars and elders and, in 1558 (13th year of King Myeongjong), built Isan Seowon at Beongogae, five ri east of the county, with the counsel of Master Toegye Yi Hwang. Toegye Yi Hwang named the lecture hall Gyeongjidang, the eastern dormitory Seongjeongjae, the western study Jinsujae, the gate Jidomun, and the terrace Gwanmuldae. In 1572 (5th year of King Seonjo) a shrine was built for the first time and the memorial tablet of Yi Hwang was enshrined, and in 1574 (7th year of King Seonjo) it received a royal charter. It was later relocated to its present site in 1614 (6th year of Gwanghaegun), was demolished in 1871, and in 1936 only Gyeongjidang and Jidomun were restored.