Gwacheon Hyanggyo Confucian School과천향교

About

Gwacheon Hyanggyo Confucian School was established in Gwacheon-hyeon in 1398. Later, following the wishes of local Confucian scholars who believed, according to feng shui, that the site was unfavorable and kept talented people from emerging, it was moved to its current location in 1690. The school places Myeongnyundang, the teaching hall, at the front and Daeseongjeon, the shrine for ancestral rites, at the back, following the layout of a study area in front and a ritual area behind. Daeseongjeon measures three bays across the front and two bays on the side, with a gabled roof that, seen from the side, is shaped like the Chinese character 人 ("person"). Myeongnyundang measures five bays across the front and two bays on the side. The three central bays have wooden floors and served as a lecture hall, while the east side has an ondol (heated-floor) room and the west side has a wooden-floored room. This appears to follow the custom of providing a room for the instructors. The outer gate, a five-by-two-bay gate with a raised central roof, was newly built in 1974, and a red arrow gate (hongsalmun) stands in front of it.