Jeminnu

About this place

Jeminnu, a two-story pavilion located behind the Sampanseo Old House, means "to relieve the people" and was the oldest public regional medical office in Joseon. Built by the magistrate of Yeongnam to serve as both a school and a medical bureau, it was used in the early Joseon period as the Uihangnu, a regional public medical institution, and as a place of study for the scholars of Yeongnam. In 1371 during the reign of King Gongmin of Goryeo, the magistrate Ha Ryun founded it as a space for a village school and for scholars' study. In 1418 (18th year of King Taejong), the Yeongju magistrate Yi Yun-sang established a medical office where medicinal herbs gathered from Taebaeksan and Sobaeksan mountains were stored, herbs were supplied to the court, and the illnesses of the townspeople were treated. Later, in 1455 (15th year of King Sejong), the medical office building Jeminnu was founded, and in 1608 (41st year of King Seonjo), the magistrate Yi Dae-jin built a medical bureau to the north of Jeminnu, establishing it as Joseon's first regional medical institution, serving medical duties and teaching the art of medicine to the sons of the yangban; it is also a place where Toegye Yi Hwang stayed for six months to care for the illnesses of the people. Originally it stood on the southern foot of Guseongnam in Yeongju, but the building collapsed in a flood in 1961, was rebuilt on its present site in 1965, and had its aged pavilion reconstructed in 2007, taking on its current appearance. The Sampanseo Old House, known as the birthplace of Jeong Do-jeon, stands nearby.