Hyogok Seowon | Attraction Guide | K-Travel Mate

Hyogok Seowon is a seowon dedicated to Kim Chung (1513~1572), Song Ryang (1534~1618), Go In-gye (1594~1647), and Kim Gwang-du (1562~1608). Kim Chung passed the civil service exam in 1515 (6th year of Myeongjong) and held positions such as Chunghugwan, Gijugwan, and Hojo Jeongrang. Song Ryang was a disciple of Seongun (1497~1579), served as Heolleung Chambong and Hanseong Chamgun, and worked with colleagues to establish Ohyeonwon and create academic regulations to train successors. Go In-gye refused to join the Northern faction and was demoted to Yeongseodo Chalpang, later resigning, and after the Injo Restoration, served as Seonggyungwan Jeonjeok, Hyeongjo Jwarang, and Yean Hyeongam. Kim Gwang-du, during the Japanese invasion of 1592, joined forces with Jeong Gyeong-se, Ijeon, and Lee Jun to resist the Japanese army. After the war, he helped establish Jonaewon, a private medical institution. Hyogok Seowon began in 1685 (11th year of Sukjong) as Sedoksa to honor Song Ryang. In 1724 (4th year of Gyeongjong), Sedoksa was relocated under Gakhoesan in Gongseong-myeon due to narrow and inconvenient terrain. In 1735 (11th year of Yeongjo), Kim Chung and Go In-gye were additionally enshrined, and it was elevated to a seowon. In 1780 (4th year of Jeongjo), the seowon was moved to Jeoldong under Gakhoesan, and in 1786 (10th year of Jeongjo), Kim Gwang-du was also enshrined. In 1870 (7th year of Gojong), Hyogok Seowon was abolished due to the seowon abolition ordinance. In 1902, with the efforts of Confucian scholars, a Danso was established for offering ceremonies. Later, in 1931, local Confucian scholars in Sangju agreed to restore Hyogok Seowon, building a lecture hall slightly northwest from the original site. In 1968, the Myou was rebuilt, ceasing the Dansang ceremonies and holding original restoration rituals.