Sunheung Hyanggyo

About this place

The exact founding date of Sunheung Hyanggyo is unknown, but it is presumed to have been established in the late Goryeo or early Joseon period. It was first built at Geumseong, north of Sunheung-bu, then moved in 1718 (the 44th year of King Sukjong) to Yadong to the east and above, later to Seokgyo-ri to the south in 1750 (the 26th year of King Yeongjo), and to its present site in 1770 (the 46th year of King Yeongjo); it was repaired in 1971, and its pavilion and dancheong (decorative coloring) were restored in 1975. Originally, Sunheung Hyanggyo was a space of ritual sacrifice where the Confucian scholars of the Sunheung region during the Joseon dynasty stayed to cultivate learning, and where the tablets of Confucius and other former sages were enshrined and memorial rites performed. Later it was also used as a village self-governing body, but from the 16th century onward, amid difficulties in the operation of hyanggyo and social and economic change, its educational function weakened and only the ritual function remained. Among the surviving buildings are the 7-kan Daeseongjeon, the 6-kan Myeongnyundang, the 5-kan-each Dongmu and Seomu, the 4-kan Dongjae, the 7-kan gate tower (munru), the Sammun, the Hyeopmun, the Jusa, and others. In the Daeseongjeon are enshrined the tablets of the five sages and ten philosophers, and in the Dongmu and Seomu the tablets of six sages of the Song dynasty and eighteen sages of Korea. In addition, materials such as the Jipsaan, Myeonbullyu Woniman, and Gyojung Jamnok, compiled in the course of hyanggyo operation in the late Joseon period, are held here.