| in the Hakka-san Region of Andong City Byeongsan Seowon Near the Hahoe-dong Aristocratic Village, a Joseon-era Seonbi Cultural Treasure 1/9th of Korea's Seowon Listing as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site |
| Hakka-san Index Page Korea's Greatest Seowon Hahoe Village Bongjeong-sa Temple San-shin Site Contents Page |
| By Robert at w:Picasa - 2006-11-01-Andong, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7377194 |
The great mid-Joseon Neo-Confucian scholar and high government official Ryu Seong-ryong moved
his family residence to the Hahoe Aristocratic Village of Andong County in 1572, and began teaching
in some modest buildings that he built on the south slope of this nearby forested hill called Hwasan-
bong, offering a pleasant view of the Nakdong River and the high ridge beyond. Following his death in
1607, local Neo-Confucians led by Jeong Gyeong-se founded the Jondeok Shrine in 1613, featuring
an ancestral tablet to commemorate his academic work and virtues. The following year this temple
was expanded into a large private academy-with-shrine-for-master-scholar [Seowon, the first of which, Sosu,
was established in 1550] and renamed Byeongsan Seowon 屛山書院, "Folding-Screen Mountain residential
academy of classical learning" -- the name reflects that the view from its front pavilion-gate (the longest
such one in all of Korea!) looks like an oriental landscape-painting mounted on a folding-screen.
his family residence to the Hahoe Aristocratic Village of Andong County in 1572, and began teaching
in some modest buildings that he built on the south slope of this nearby forested hill called Hwasan-
bong, offering a pleasant view of the Nakdong River and the high ridge beyond. Following his death in
1607, local Neo-Confucians led by Jeong Gyeong-se founded the Jondeok Shrine in 1613, featuring
an ancestral tablet to commemorate his academic work and virtues. The following year this temple
was expanded into a large private academy-with-shrine-for-master-scholar [Seowon, the first of which, Sosu,
was established in 1550] and renamed Byeongsan Seowon 屛山書院, "Folding-Screen Mountain residential
academy of classical learning" -- the name reflects that the view from its front pavilion-gate (the longest
such one in all of Korea!) looks like an oriental landscape-painting mounted on a folding-screen.
Byeongsan Seowon served as an elite local "high school" that sent many promising teenage student-
boys to the Seonggyun-gwan National University, and served as a key Andong County site of study,
lectures, writing and printing. In 1868 the powerful royal regent Heungseon Daewon-gun ordered it
to be closed and razed along with 220 other seowon, but escaped any damaged due to powerful
advocates. The Lecture Hall was rebuilt in 1921 under Japanese colonial rule. A memorial ceremony
for Ryu Seong-ryong and his son Ryu Jin called Hyangsarye is held here every March & September.
It is designated as National Historic Site #260 and still contains about 3,000 Joseon books of many
different types, including a collection of books by Ryu Seong-ryong.
boys to the Seonggyun-gwan National University, and served as a key Andong County site of study,
lectures, writing and printing. In 1868 the powerful royal regent Heungseon Daewon-gun ordered it
to be closed and razed along with 220 other seowon, but escaped any damaged due to powerful
advocates. The Lecture Hall was rebuilt in 1921 under Japanese colonial rule. A memorial ceremony
for Ryu Seong-ryong and his son Ryu Jin called Hyangsarye is held here every March & September.
It is designated as National Historic Site #260 and still contains about 3,000 Joseon books of many
different types, including a collection of books by Ryu Seong-ryong.