Yeosan Hyanggyo

About this place

Yeosan Hyanggyo was founded in the 3rd year of King Taejong of Joseon (1403). It later burned down during the Imjin War in the reign of King Seonjo, but was afterward reconstructed by the local Confucian scholars. Like other hyanggyo of the medium-scale enshrinement (jungseolwi) type, its Daeseongjeon enshrines the Five Sages, the Ten Wise Men, and six sages of China, as well as the eighteen sages of Korea. At the highest part of the hyanggyo stands the Daeseongjeon of three bays, below which the Seomu is on the left and the Dongmu on the right, each a building of three bays. Below the inner three-gate stands the Myeongnyundang lecture hall of five front bays, with the Dongjae on the right and the Seojae on the left, each forming three front bays. Further below these buildings, the Samajae, Yangsajae, and Jeonsacheong (ritual-preparation office) each form three front bays. The Daeseongjeon of Yeosan Hyanggyo was designated Cultural Heritage Material No. 83 of Jeonbuk State on April 1, 1984. The Daeseongjeon measures three and a half bays across the front. The roof is a gable roof shaped like the character for 'person' (人) when viewed from the side. Windbreak boards are attached to the sides of the roof. Inside the Daeseongjeon are enshrined the memorial tablets of Confucius, his disciples, and the sages of Korea. During the Joseon period the state provided land, slaves, books, and so on to teach students, but at present the educational function has disappeared and only the ritual function remains.