Geoje Hyanggyo (Geoje)

 Confucian temple  Add category

Geoje Hyanggyo, a good example of a Joseon-era public Confucian school, was first established in 1432 in Gohyeon, relocated several times before being moved to its current location in 1855. Geoje Hyanggyo is Gyeongsangnam-do Tangible Cultural Property #206.

A Hyanggyo, public Confucian school, is an organization of the local government from the Joseon Era (1392-1897) that is comparable to today’s public middle school (Seodang were private village schools, study halls, providing elementary education during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, primarily occupied with providing initial training in the Chinese classics to boys of 7-16 years of age). It served to pay respect to old scholars, educate children, spread national philosophies within the region, and enhance local culture with a focus on establishing Confucianism as a traditional social norm in Korea. They began to taper off near the end of the Joseon Dynasty as Seowons, a private educational organization, began to open in each area.

Structures include a Confucian shrine, sage shrines, gates, lecture hall, and dormitories. The Confucian shrine hall, Daeseongjeon, is dedicated to Confucius (552-479 B.C.), is where the memorial tablets of Confucius, tablets of Five Chinese sages (Confucius, Zengzi, Zisi, Anzi, and Mencius), four Confucian scholars of the Song dynasty of China, including Jhu Xi, and Eighteen scholars of the Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon periods of Korea (Seol Chong, Choe Chiwon, An Yu, Jeong Mong-ju, etc.), are enshrined.