E2024-G109
Gwangjuhyanggyo Local Confucian School: Confucian Veneration and Elite Education
Narrative
Local Confucian schools, called hyanggyo in Korean, are public education institutions of the Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon (1392-1910) periods. They were established nationwide to function as local shrines for Confucius and other sages and to promote Confucian education and nurture elites in local districts. Students learned about literature including poetry composition, Confucian Classics, and history.
Gwangjuhyanggyo Local Confucian School was established in 1392 at the foot of Mudeungsan Mountain near Jangwonbong Peak. Due to the frequent tiger attacks, the school was moved inside the walled town of Gwangju. However, because of constant water damage to the buildings, the school was moved to its current location in 1488. The school burned down in the Japanese invasion of 1597, was rebuilt in 1600, and has since undergone several renovations. It was designated as a Gwangju Tangible Cultural Heritage in 1985. Today, the Gwangju Confucian College operates the Confucian Academy program out of the school.
From front to back, the school complex consists of a lecture hall called Myeongnyundang, two dormitories, an inner gate, two auxiliary shrines, and a main shrine called Daeseongjeon. The main gate is located to the right of the lecture hall. Next to the main gate are nine steles housed in a pavilion. The steles bear records of the foundation, relocations, and renovations of the school. To the left of the complex are two auxiliary buildings and an education hall constructed here in the 1980s.
Located just to the south of the school is Sajik Park, where Sajikdan Altar is located. Just across the Gwangjucheon Stream is where Gwangjueupseong Walled Town, the seat of the local government office, was located.
Network Graph
Resources
| type | resource | title | description/caption | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 해설 | Cultural Heritage Wiki | Gwangjuhyanggyo Local Confucian School | https://dh.aks.ac.kr/~heritage/wiki/index.php/광주향교 |
Story Map
- Sacred Foundations: Confucian Legacy and Traditional Governance
- Gwangjueupseong Walled Town: The Administrative Heart of Gwangju
- Gwangjuhyanggyo Local Confucian School: Confucian Veneration and Elite Education
- Commemorative Pavilion of the Jangheung Go Clan: Three Generations of the Three Confucian Virtues
- Commemorative Pavilion of Chunghyo-dong: The Village of Loyalty and Filial Devotion
- Buyongjeong Pavilion and the Gwangju Village Code
- Yi Seon-je’s Shrine in Perpetuity: Remembering Outstanding Virtue
- Wolbongseowon Confucian Academy: Repository of the Four-Seven Debate
