Heunghaehyanggyo Confucian School 흥해향교 興海鄕校

 Heunghaehyanggyo Confucian School 흥해향교 興海鄕校

Daeseongjeon Shrine of Heunghaehyanggyo

Local Confucian School, Pohang

Gyeongsangbuk-do Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 451

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Daeseongjeon is a shrine located within a local Confucian school housing the spirit tablets of

Confucian sages and men of virtue. Local Confucian schools, called hyanggyo in Korean, are

public education institutions established nationwide in the Goryeo (918-1392) and Joseon

(1392-1910) periods to function as local shrines for Confucius and other sages and to promote Confucian education and nurture elites in local districts.

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Daeseongjeon Shrine of Heunghaehyanggyo Local Confucian School enshrines 20 spirit tablets for Confucian sages, including Confucius, his disciples, and eminent Confucian scholars of Korea. The shrine was built on the elevated ground at the back of the complex. This indicates its greater significance as compared to the lecture hall, which was constructed at the lower area in the 什ont.

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This local Confucian school is said to have been first built in 1398. During the Korean War (1950-1953), all the buildings except Daeseongjeon Shrine and the eastern auxiliary shrine were lost. The other buildings were later rebuilt, and the complex currently includes a main gate called laehwaru Pavilion, a lecture hall called Myeongnyundang, an inner gate, two auxiliary shrines, the main shrine Daeseongjeon, and a custodians residence.