Yerim Seowon

At the edge of the fields of Bubuk-myeon in Miryang, you pass beneath a two-storey gate pavilion, the Dokseoru, into a Confucian academy dedicated to Kim Jong-jik (1431–1492), the great teacher of Joseon's scholar-officials. Founded in 1567, Yerim Seowon has been destroyed three times, by war, by fire and by royal decree, and rebuilt each time. The woodblocks used to print Kim's collected writings are still kept in its storehouse.

An academy for the teacher of the sarim

A seowon was a private Confucian academy of the Joseon dynasty that combined a school with a shrine to a revered scholar. Kim Jong-jik, a scholar and official from Miryang, led the Neo-Confucian revival of early Joseon and trained disciples such as Kim Goeng-pil and Jeong Yeo-chang, which made him the father figure of the reform-minded sarim scholars. In 1498, six years after his death, a lament he had written, the "Jouijemun", was denounced as a veiled attack on King Sejo's seizure of the throne. In the purge that followed, even his buried body was punished.

The academy was founded in 1567 by Yi Gyeong-u, the magistrate of Miryang, at the request of local scholars and on the advice of the philosopher Yi Hwang (Toegye), on the site of the former Yeongwonsa temple. It was first called Deokseong Seowon. Burned during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, it was rebuilt in 1606. In the 1630s it moved to Yerim-ri, took the name Yerim Seowon and added two more scholars to its shrine: Kim's disciple Bak Han-ju (1459–1504) and the Miryang scholar Sin Gye-seong (1499–1562). Sources give the year of that move as 1634, 1635 or 1637. Around 1669 it received a royal charter, which brought state recognition and support. After a fire destroyed it in 1680, it was rebuilt on the present site. In 1871 it was pulled down under the regent Heungseon Daewongun's decree abolishing most academies, and from 1874 its buildings were restored one by one.

What to see

Yerim Seowon follows the classic layout with the teaching area in front and the shrine at the back, so walking from front to back is the easiest way to understand it.

• Dokseoru: the main gate. You enter through the three doors on the lower level, while the raised floor above was where students read, debated and rested. With views over the fields and hills, this two-storey pavilion is the best photo spot.
• Guyeongdang: the lecture hall, with a board reading "Yerim Seowon" hanging under its front eaves.
• Donseonjae and Jikbangjae: the two dormitories facing each other in front of the lecture hall.
• Yeolgogak: the woodblock storehouse, which kept the blocks used to print Kim Jong-jik's collected works and the Yijonnok, his record of his father Kim Suk-ja's life.
• Jeongyangmun and Yukdeoksa: climb the steps through the inner gate, Jeongyangmun, to reach Yukdeoksa, the shrine holding the spirit tablets of Kim Jong-jik, Bak Han-ju and Sin Gye-seong.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: admission is free and the academy is open all year. There are no published opening hours, so if you want to see the shrine, call ahead (tel. 055-359-5639). A local heritage guide can be requested, and there are information boards in English.
• Getting there: the address is 128 Yerimseowon-ro, Bubuk-myeon, Miryang. It is about 4 km west of Miryang Station, roughly ten minutes by taxi, and you can park in front of the academy.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour to look around each building.
• When to go: spring and autumn are the most pleasant. In midsummer the courtyards have little shade, so come in the morning.
• Combine with: Churwonjae, Kim Jong-jik's birthplace, is also in Bubuk-myeon, and Yeongnamnu Pavilion is close by in central Miryang.