Seobyeokjeong Pavilion

About this place

Seobyeokjeong was built as a private retreat where Yeonjae Song Byeong-seon — who had risen to the office of Daesaheon (Inspector General) in the late Joseon period — came while criticizing the times and living in seclusion, captivated by the beauty of Gucheon-dong Valley. Here he debated the state of the nation with scholars from Yeongnam and Honam and trained future generations of students. The structure stands on a stone platform built of rough-hewn stones, with natural stone pillars, and has a hip-and-gable roof with a main bracket style (jusimpo), four bays wide and three bays deep. The left and right outer bays at the front are raised like a pavilion floor set midway up the pillars — the left side higher than the right. The overall appearance is that of a refined and dignified aristocratic study hall. Burned by fire at some point, it was rebuilt in the 28th year of King Gojong's reign (1891) and served as a bivouac for North Korean soldiers during the Korean War. In the 1st year of Emperor Gwangmu (1897), Muju County Magistrate Jo Byeong-yu enshrined the portraits of Zhu Xi and Song Si-yeol here. Yeonjae Song Byeong-seon was a loyal subject who, unable to bear the anguish of national ruin when the Eulsa Treaty (Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty) was signed in 1905, took his own life by poison to preserve his loyalty. Song Byeong-seon's courtesy name was Hwa-ok and his family seat was Eunje; he was the ninth-generation descendant of Uam Song Si-yeol. He rose to Daesaheon through his scholarship and disciplined conduct, though he never took up the post. He wrote Byeoksaseol to denounce Western Learning and opposed opening trade with Japan. When the Eulsa Treaty was signed, he petitioned for political reform and caution toward Japan and won royal assent. He was posthumously awarded the rank of Euijeong (State Councillor) and the posthumous title of Munchung, and in 1962 was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation.