() were common educational institutions of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. They were private institutions, and combined the functions of a Confucian shrine and a Confucian school. The seowon were primarily occupied with preparing young men for the national civil service examinations. In most cases, seowon served only pupils of the aristocratic class. On 6 July 2019, UNESCO recognized a collection of nine as World Heritage Sites.

History

Seowons first appeared in Korea in the early Joseon Dynasty, whose establishment were driven mainly by the Sarim Neo-Confucian scholars. While the exact year of seowon introduction in Korea is not known for certain, in 1418 King Sejong issued rewards to two scholars for their work in setting up seowons in Gimje and Gwangju. The first seowon to receive a royal charter was the Sosu Seowon in Punggi, presided over by Toegye, which was given a hanging board by King Myeongjong in 1550. While historian Michael Shin mentions that the earliest seowon was established in North Gyeongsang by Ju Sebung (1495–1554).

Large numbers of seowons were established by leading (literati), or by local groups of families. Some of the Sarim scholars who retired to villages in the wake of literati purges of the 16th century used the seowons as their political bases.

They were modeled after early private Chinese academies of classical learning . The latter originated in the 8th century under the Tang dynasty, and were later dismantled under the Yuan dynasty to become preparatory schools for the imperial examinations under government control.

Most were closed by an edict of the regent Daewon-gun in the turbulent final years of the 19th century. He banned the unauthorized construction of in 1864, and removed their tax exemption in 1868; finally, in 1871, he ordered all but a handful closed. The provincial were outraged by these measures, and this is among the reasons that Daewon-gun was driven from power in 1873; however, the remained closed.

World Heritage Site

, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies is a World Heritage Site consisting of a selection of nine :

• Sosu Seowon, Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do

• , Hamyang County, Gyeongsangnam-do

• Oksan Seowon, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do

• Dosan Seowon, Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do

• , Jangseong County, Jeollanam-do

• , Dalseong County, Daegu Metropolitan City

• Byeongsan Seowon, Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do

• , Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do

• , Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do

Korean cultural heritage sites

In 1741 (Yeongjo 17), when seowon were abolished due the corruption associated with them and because of their role in factional politics, the number of seowon was close to 1,000.

Currently, approximately 150 seowon are cultural heritage sites in South Korea, with many having been restored. They continue to function as shrines to Confucian scholars who performed some significant service to Joseon, contributed to Joseon learning, or were simply family members, but seowons also may also be used for events, such as academic colloquia. See for example, Gangseon Seowon, Hyoam Seowon , and Galcheon Seowon.

References

See also

• Education in the Joseon Dynasty

• Korean Confucianism

• History of Korea

• List of seowon

• Academies (Shuyuan) (Chinese equivalent to seowon)

External links

• Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture

• Asian Historical Architecture: Byeongsan Seowon (병산서원), a representative example