Donam Seowon Confucian Academy, Nonsan

Donam Seowon was founded to honour Kim Jang-saeng (1548–1631), the great Joseon scholar of Confucian ritual. It is one of the few academies that survived the 1871 decree abolishing seowon, and in 2019 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the nine "Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies". Its lecture hall, Eungdodang, built after ancient Chinese house design, is its signature building.

An academy built by grateful students

Kim Jang-saeng's students, who had studied with him at Yangseongdang and at Jeonghoedang, the study hall of his father Kim Gye-hwi, founded the academy in 1634 to honour their teacher. It received royal charters naming it under kings Hyojong and Hyeonjong, and later also enshrined Kim's son Kim Jip as well as Song Jun-gil and Song Si-yeol.

The academy originally stood at Supmal, about 1.5 km northwest of its current site. Being close to the Yeonsancheon stream, it flooded up to the courtyard, so it was moved to slightly higher ground; sources differ on whether that was in 1880 or 1881. The name comes from a large rock at the old site called Donam, a word implying a life in retreat.

What to see

• Eungdodang (Treasure): the lecture hall, famous for following ancient house design.
• Sungnyesa: the shrine holding the spirit tablets of Kim Jang-saeng and the scholars enshrined with him, set at the back of the academy.
• Yangseongdang and Jeonghoedang: Kim Jang-saeng's study hall, and his father's study hall, moved here in 1954.
• Wonjeongbi: a stele in the centre of the courtyard recording the academy's history.
• Sanangnu and Janpangak: the entrance pavilion, and the storehouse for woodblocks used to print books.

Good to know

• When the 1871 decree closed academies across the country, only 47 were spared, and Donam Seowon was one of them.
• At its July 2019 session in Baku, Azerbaijan, the World Heritage Committee inscribed the Korean seowon as testimony to the Neo-Confucianism that spread widely in late Joseon.
• When building Yangseongdang, Kim Jang-saeng described Daedunsan rising to the south and Gyeryongsan to the north, and wrote of looking up at the mountains and down at the stream to grasp the principles of nature, a glimpse of why the academy sits where it does.
• The academy was designated a Historic Site in 1993, and its printing woodblocks are separately protected as a local heritage item of Nonsan.
• The nine academies inscribed together are Sosu, Namgye, Oksan, Dosan, Piram, Dodong, Byeongsan, Museong and Donam; Donam is the only one in the Chungcheong region.

Tripto tips

• Hours and fees: open at all times, free of charge. Many buildings cannot be entered, so view them from the courtyards and verandas.
• Guides: Korean-language heritage guides can be booked through Nonsan City's tourism office; there is no foreign-language guiding.
• Time needed: 30–40 minutes for the academy, about an hour with the hanok village next door.
• Nearby: Nonsan Hanok Village is about 270 m away, and the General Gyebaek historic site and the old Yeonsan Station water tower are within 2 km.