Gangneung Hyanggyo Confucian School

About ten minutes' walk from Gangneung Station, tiled roofs climb in tiers up the slope of Hwabusan hill. Gangneung Hyanggyo is considered the largest provincial Confucian school in Korea after the national academy Seonggyungwan, and because it escaped burning in the Korean War it keeps almost all of its Joseon-era appearance. Its shrine hall, lecture hall and side shrines are all designated Treasures.

A provincial school more than 700 years old

A hyanggyo was a state school where rites were held for Confucius and other sages and local students were taught Confucian learning. Gangneung's was founded in 1313, under the Goryeo dynasty, burned down in 1411 and was rebuilt in 1413. Repeated repairs and extensions gave it its present grand scale under King Injo in the 17th century. Teaching has long since stopped and only the rites continue, but the hyanggyo still runs Myeongnyun High School, which it founded.

Two spaces up the slope

The layout follows the "study in front, shrine behind" plan: the learning area sits lower down and the ritual area above it.

• Myeongnyundang: a two-storey pavilion-style hall 11 bays wide and 2 bays deep, the largest surviving lecture hall of any hyanggyo. In the early Joseon period it was a long pavilion called Namnu, the South Pavilion, and it was converted into a lecture hall in the 17th century. The ground floor is just open columns used as a passage, so walk underneath it to enter the compound.
• Daeseongjeon: the main shrine, built in 1413, with a simple gabled roof, bracket sets only on top of the columns and a stone-slab floor. It holds the spirit tablets of Confucius, Yanzi, Zengzi, Zisi and Mencius.
• Dongmu, Seomu and Jeonrang: the east and west halls flanking the shrine courtyard hold tablets of Chinese and Korean scholars. Most other hyanggyo moved these tablets into the main shrine or removed the halls, but Gangneung keeps the Joseon arrangement intact. The long corridor-like gatehouse, Jeonrang, that closes off the front of the shrine is also an unusual form. It seems to predate the triple gate later standard at hyanggyo, and it has changed little since a recorded repair in 1721.

Designations and ceremonies

Daeseongjeon became a Treasure in 1963, and the lecture hall, the side halls and Jeonrang were designated together in December 2020. Every spring (2nd lunar month) and autumn (8th lunar month) the Seokjeon Daeje, a rite honouring Confucius and the sages, is performed here. Most of the school's books burned during the Korean War; only about 70 volumes survive, including an illustrated life of Confucius.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: 30–40 minutes to look around the lecture hall and the shrine at a relaxed pace.
• Getting there: about 500 m west of Gangneung KTX Station, roughly 10 minutes on foot. There is free parking.
• Visiting: admission is free. The ritual area is sometimes shut, so take in the buildings quietly and start from the outside.
• Best time: time your visit for a Seokjeon Daeje to see the rite. Dates follow the lunar calendar and change every year, so check in advance.
• Combine with: Ojukheon, about 2 km to the northwest, and Seongyojang and Gyeongpodae near Gyeongpo make a full day of Joseon-era Gangneung.