Unyangseowon

About this place

Unyangseowon is an academy that enshrines the memorial tablet of Won-jeong Yeo Hui-rim (1481-1553), the figure who first put into practice the hyangyak - the self-governing covenant of rural communities in the Joseon period. The academy was demolished in 1868 and then rebuilt in 1874 through the efforts of the local Confucian scholars (sarim). Earlier, because it stood at the foot of Yeonbongsan, it was called Yeonbongseowon or Cheongokseowon, but after the tablet came to be enshrined in Myeongdeoksa, it came to be known as Unyangseowon. The buildings within the grounds are divided into two main areas. The main gate Uuimun, the lecture hall Geoindang, and the eastern and western chambers are arranged in an open square ('口') shape, and to the east of this area, the shrine precinct - composed of Myeongdeoksa and the inner three-bay gate (naesammun) - is arranged in parallel.