Geomgye Seowon (Confucian Academy)

About this place

Geomgye Seowon is an academy founded by Jeon Sin, a loyal subject who served four successive kings at the end of the Goryeo period, as a place to retire and educate future scholars. Inside the academy are the Yanghyeonsa shrine and the ancestral altar of the Cheonan Jeon clan founder, as well as a jungje room. Behind the Yanghyeonsa is the tomb of the Cheonan Jeon clan founder, with memorial altars for Jeon Seung and Jeon Sin on either side, flanked by a stele. Below the altars stand the Chunghunsa shrine and the Yanghyeonsa side by side, each with a samun gate in front. The Yanghyeonsa enshrines the spirit tablets of Jeon Sin (1276–1339), a civil official of the late Goryeo period, and Yi Hyeop (1583–1665), a literatus of the mid-Joseon period. A rite is held each year on the 10th of the 3rd lunar month, gathering local scholars and descendants to honor the legacy of their ancestors and promote traditional culture.