Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site and Udong-ri VillageThis is a panoramic view of the Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site and Udong-ri from the Historic Site in Boan-myeon, Buan-gun. The Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 22 on September 27, 1974.
Frontal view of Bangyeseodang Village SchoolThis is the Bangyeseodang Village School inside the Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site in Udong-ri, Boan-myeon, Buan-gun. The village school measures four kan at the front and three kan on the sides and has a half-hipped roof with double-layered eaves.
Monument of Yu Hyeongwon Historic SiteThis photo shows the monument of the Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site located in Udong-ri, Boan-myeon, Buan-gun. The monument was erected in 1974.
CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
Korean반계 선생 유적지
Chinese磻溪先生遺蹟地
Nickname반계 유형원 선생 유적지
FieldHistory / Premodern
Contents TypeHistoric Site / Historic Site (General)
Current Location97-68, Bangye-ro Boan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
Definition
A historic site associated with Yu Hyeongwon, a Neo-Confucian of the late Joseon period, located in Udong-ri, Boan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
Summary
Yu Yeong-won (pen-name: Bangye, 1622-1673) was a founder of Silhak (Realist School of Confucianism) who advocated the wholesale reform of Joseon society in the seventeenth century. He moved from Hanyang (present-day Seoul) to Ubandong in Buan at the age of 32 in 1653 (the 4th year of the reign of King Hyojong), finished his book, Bangye surok (Occasional Writings of Bangye), at the age of 49 in 1670 (the 11th year of the reign of King Hyojong), and passed away in Buan three years later aged 52. Yu Hyeongwon lived at this site in Ubandong, Boan-myeon, Buan-gun for over twenty years, during which time he completed a full synthesis of social reforms including land reform.
Background of Construction
The Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site is the place where Yu Hyeongwon (pen-name: Bangye), a pioneer of Silhak during the reigns of King Hyojong and King Hyeonjong, retired to the country and devoted himself to his studies. The Bangyeseodang Village School was built the year after he moved to Ubandong (1654, the 5th year of the reign of King Hyojong).
Location
The Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site is situated at 97-68, Bangye-ro (San128-5, Udong-ri), Boan-myeon, Buan-gun.
Forms
Despite his status as a renowned scholar of Silhak, there are surprisingly few relics associated with Yu Hyeongwon in Buan. Among the surviving artifacts in Ubandong are the site of Yu’s house and wells, which are believed to have been dug by Yu himself, and the Bangyeseodang Village School, which was restored together with the wells in and outside the school grounds. The school building measures four kan (a unit of measurement referring to the distance between two columns) at the front and three kan at the sides, and has a half-hipped roof with double-layered eaves. In 1974, the Yu Hyeongwon Memorial was built with the support of county residents and the government, and a tomb was built at Yu’s temporary burial site, while a stone pillar bearing his poem about military training was erected in a rice paddy in Ubandong. Only the Memorial Stone for Yu Hyeongwon remains in the village of Dongnim in Gao-ri, Sangseo-myeon, Buan-gun, a short way from the historic site, as the Dongnimseowon Confucian Academy, in which Yu Hyeongwon’s spirit tablet was originally enshrined, was abolished.
Current Status
The Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 22 on September 27, 1974. The Bangyeseodang Village School, having already been demolished once, was restored as a building sized 66.12 m2 in 1981. There are two wells in and outside the school grounds that are believed to have been dug by Yu Hyeongwon himself. Bangyejeong Pavilion, located beneath the school, was built during the restoration of the historic site. The basic maintenance plan of the Yu Hyeongwon Historic Site was established in 2000 and the maintenance work is still in progress as of 2020.
