Yongmun Seowon

About this place

A seowon (private Confucian academy) is an educational institution established by local literati from the mid-Joseon period onward, dedicated to scholarship and to holding memorial rites for Confucius and great Confucian scholars. Yongmun Seowon is located to the east of Gongju city in South Chungcheong Province. In 1663 (the 4th year of King Hyeonjong's reign), Yi Yu-tae relocated to Jungdong (present-day Sangwang-dong) in Gongju and founded this private institution to educate future scholars; it is said that he cultivated hundreds of literary disciples here. Originally named Yongmun Seojae, the present Yongmun Seowon was restored in 1977 with government support, together with an old residence. The complex comprises a shrine of 6 bays, a gate of 1 bay, side gates of 1 bay each, a library of 6 bays, an east dormitory of 6 bays, an artifact exhibition hall of 8 bays, a lecture hall of 8 bays, a caretaker's quarters of 1 bay, and a main gate of 3 bays, with the old residence to the left of the seowon. It is currently owned by the Yi Choryo Memorial Foundation and managed by the head family of the Gyeongju Yi clan's Munheon-gong branch. Designated as cultural heritage data of South Chungcheong Province in 2004 under the name 'Gongju Yi Yu-tae Yuheoji,' artifacts related to Yi Yu-tae discovered here are also designated as cultural heritage and housed in Kongju National University Museum.