Isu Hanwoo Specialty Restaurant | Restaurant Guide

Yeongdong Hyanggyo is an educational institution established in the Yeongdong area during the reign of King Seonjo of Joseon (1567–1608) to enshrine the spirit tablets of distinguished Confucian scholars and to provide education and guidance in Confucianism to local residents. It was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598 and rebuilt inside the old walled town in 1660 (1st year of King Hyeonjong). In 1676 (2nd year of King Sukjong), it moved to Gugyo-dong, and in 1754 (30th year of King Yeongjo), it was relocated to its present site. The layout features the lecture hall Myeongnyundang with six rooms for Confucian education at the front, flanked by the east and west dormitories for students. A central gate, Naesammun, stands in the middle, with Daeseongjeon (the Confucian shrine) and East and West Councils located behind it. The Daeseongjeon enshrines spirit tablets of Confucius and Confucian scholars from China and Korea. During the Joseon period, the institution received land, books, and slaves from the state, with one instructor teaching up to thirty students. After the Gabo Reform, the educational functions ceased, but rites such as Seokjeon in spring and autumn and offerings on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month continue. Only a few printed texts remain in the collection, and the hyanggyo's operations are managed by one principal and several officers. Yeongdong Hyanggyo was designated a Chungcheongbuk-do Tangible Cultural Property in 1980.

Yeongdong Gyudang Old House was built in the late 19th century and occupies a quite spacious site. The inner quarters are in a 'ㄱ' shape and the outer quarters surround it broadly to form an overall 'ㅁ' shape; when viewed from the roadside behind the house, the adjoining wall extends long. The inner living spaces are well-preserved, but the outer living spaces—external areas—have been significantly altered, making the original overall form unclear. The construction dates recorded on the tiles are Eulyu third month (1885) and Byeongsul third month (1886), suggesting a late 19th-century building. The 'ㄱ' shaped inner quarters follow a southern style layout with kitchen, main room, wooden-floor hall, and side room in sequence, and separate small study, main hall, and reception room arranged without a distinct sarangchae (men's quarters). The roof ridge ends are notably raised, a common technique in southern folk houses. Notably, the toilet to the east of the side room is a formally built single-room sod roof with a square roof, making it a very beautiful building.