Seowon

For the administrative division, see Seowon-gu.

Seowon
Dosan Seowon in Andong which was depicted on the reverse of the South Korean 1,000 South Korean won bill from 1975 to 2007.
Korean name
Hangul	서원
Hanja	書院
Revised Romanization	Seowon
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏwŏn

Seowon (Hangul: 서원; hanja: 書院) were the most common educational institutions of Korea during the mid- to late Joseon Dynasty. They were private institutions, and combined the functions of a Confucian shrine and a preparatory school. In educational terms, the seowon were primarily occupied with preparing students for the national civil service examinations. In most cases, seowon served only pupils of the aristocratic yangban class.

History

Gosan seowon

Seowon first appear in the early Joseon Dynasty. Although the exact year of their introduction is not known for certain, in 1418 King Sejong issued rewards to two scholars for their work in setting up seowon 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.

Many seowon were established by leading literati, or by local groups of yangban families. For instance, Ju Se-bong established the Sosu Seowon, which continued in operation long after his death. Some of them were built by Sarim scholars who retired to villages in the wake of literati purges of 16th century and served as their political bases.

Most seowon 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 seowon in 1864, and removed their tax exemption in 1868; finally, in 1871, he ordered all but a handful closed. The provincial yangban were outraged by these measures, and this is among the reasons that Daewon-gun was driven from power in 1873; however, the seowon remained closed.

In popular culture

In the strategy game Civilization IV, the seowon replaces universities for the Korean Empire.

See also

• Education in the Joseon Dynasty
• Korean Confucianism
• History of Korea
• List of seowon
• Academies (Shuyuan) (Chinese Seowon)

External links

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