Hongcheon Hyanggyo Confucian School

Set on a hill in Huimang-ri, in the middle of Hongcheon town, Hongcheon Hyanggyo is a school that moved three times and was once burned in war. Past the two-storey Seokhwaru gate tower at the entrance, the lecture hall and the terraced shrine area follow, and from the hilltop you look out over the town and the surrounding hills. Many of the buildings were rebuilt after the Korean War, but the layout of the district school has stayed on this site for nearly 400 years.

What is a hyanggyo?

A hyanggyo was a state school founded in each district during the Joseon dynasty. It was both a shrine where Confucius and other sages were honoured with rites and a school that prepared local young men for the civil service examinations. If Seonggyungwan in Seoul was the country's highest academy, the hyanggyo was its district-level counterpart.

A school on the move

Tradition says Hongcheon Hyanggyo was founded in 1531, but there is no evidence for this, nor for the story that it first stood in Cheoljeong-ri, Duchon-myeon. Records show it moved to Naesampo-ri, Hwachon-myeon, in 1560, to Huimang 2-ri in Hongcheon-eup in 1595, and to its present site in 1635.

During the Korean War, in the retreat of January 1951, the shrine hall and west dormitory burned to the ground, and the school's old books were lost. The shrine hall, lecture hall and west dormitory were rebuilt in 1957 and repaired in 1967, giving the school its present appearance. It was designated a Gangwon Province Cultural Heritage Material on 17 January 1985.

What to see

• Seokhwaru: the two-storey gate tower at the entrance. The lower level is a three-bay gate painted with taegeuk symbols, and the upper level is an open pavilion with a railing. Some sources spell the name Seokhoeru.
• Lecture hall and dormitories: the teaching area at the front, with the Myeongnyundang lecture hall and the dormitories facing each other across a wide yard.
• Inner gate and Daeseongjeon: climb the steps up a high stone terrace and pass through the taegeuk-painted inner gate to the ritual area. The Daeseongjeon shrine holds the tablets of the Five Sages of China, two Song-dynasty scholars and 18 Korean sages.

The layout puts the school in front and the shrine behind.

Life in a district school

In the Joseon period the state provided land, books and servants, and a single instructor taught 30 students. In late Joseon teaching declined and the rites for the sages became central. The seokjeon ceremony is still held on the first ding day of the 2nd and 8th lunar months, with incense offered on the 1st and 15th of every lunar month. The school is run by a head officer and several assistants.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: how much is open depends on the school. Ask ahead if you want to see the shrine area.
• Photos: the front of Seokhwaru gives the most symmetrical shot, and from the steps by the gate tower the view opens out towards the town.
• Getting there: the address is 101-14 Seokhwa-ro, Hongcheon-eup (Huimang-ri), about 1.2 km in a straight line from Hongcheon Bus Terminal.
• Time needed: 20–30 minutes.
• Nearby: combine it with Sutasa Temple, about 6 km away, for a half-day in Hongcheon.