IOverview
In Korea, Sungkyunkwan is both a historic institution and the name of today's Confucian body. Founded in Hanyang, now Seoul, on 25 September 1398, it was the highest national academy of the Joseon dynasty. Today the organisation bearing its name looks after the Munmyo shrine in Seoul and the network of local hyanggyo across the country, and performs the great Seokjeon rite twice a year.
This is a case where Confucianism does have a clear organisation, unlike China or Vietnam. Even so, it does not resemble a church with creeds and initiation. It is closer to an association of people who keep Confucian ritual and learning. It should also be distinguished from Sungkyunkwan University, the modern university that inherits the old institution's name and tradition.
IIHistory
- 4th to 14th centuriesConfucianism reaches KoreaPresent from the Three Kingdoms period, with a national academy and examinations under Goryeo. Late in Goryeo, An Hyang and others brought in Neo-Confucianism.
- 1392Founding of JoseonJoseon made Neo-Confucianism its state ideology until 1910.
- 1398SungkyunkwanFounded in Hanyang on 25 September with 150 students, raised to 200 in 1429.
- 16th centuryHeight of Korean Neo-ConfucianismYi Hwang (1501 to 1570) and Yi I (1536 to 1584) debated the Four Beginnings and Seven Feelings, on how principle, qi and emotion relate.
- 1910 to 1945Colonial periodSungkyunkwan was demoted to a private institution and renamed Gyeonghagwon.
- After 1945Name restoredThe name Sungkyunkwan was restored and Sungkyunkwan University was established.
- January 2024Dedicated law in forceA law on succeeding, developing and supporting the traditional culture of Sungkyunkwan, hyanggyo and seowon took effect.
IIITeachings and Distinctive Ideas
Korean Confucianism follows the Song school and is known as Seongnihak, the learning of nature and principle. Its distinctive trait is a deep moral psychology. The Four-Seven Debate asked whether the four sprouts of goodness named by Mencius, and the seven ordinary feelings such as joy, anger, sorrow and fear, issue from principle or from qi. Yi Hwang leaned toward allowing principle itself to issue, while Yi I held that only qi issues and principle rides upon it. These two views became the roots of the two great Joseon schools.
For Koreans who keep Confucian ritual today, the core is filial piety, respect for elders and proper rites for ancestors. The rite for Confucius is understood as gratitude to a teacher, not a plea for favours.
Korea is often called the most Confucian country in the world, implying that many Koreans are Confucians. Two things need separating. In the 2015 census only about 0.2 percent named Confucianism as their religion. Yet a survey cited in a 2022 study in the journal Religions found that when asked whether they considered themselves Confucian regardless of religion, about 51 percent said yes.
IVThe Seokjeon Rite and Ancestral Rites
The Seokjeon Daeje is held twice a year, in May and September, at the Munmyo of Sungkyunkwan and at hyanggyo. It honours 39 figures: Confucius, his four correlates, ten philosophers, six Song worthies and eighteen Korean worthies. The rite is accompanied by Munmyo ritual music with 64 musicians and the eight-row dance of eight dancers per row. Korea lists it as Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 85.
At home, ancestral rites known as jesa, and the holiday offerings called charye at the Lunar New Year and Chuseok, are the most living trace of Confucianism. The 2022 study in Religions reports that the share of people performing ancestral rites in the Confucian manner fell from 71 percent in 2014 to 58 percent in 2021.
VOrganisation and Distribution
Sungkyunkwan in Seoul heads the network of hyanggyo, the Joseon-era local Confucian schools that now serve as shrines and cultural centres. According to Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2025, the country has 234 hyanggyo and 1,087 seowon, the private academies of the Joseon period. In 2025 the ministry announced its first comprehensive plan to turn these sites into hubs of traditional education and local culture. The Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan complex in Seoul is Historic Site No. 143.
VIIn Vietnam
There is no Sungkyunkwan community or branch in Vietnam. The connection is shared heritage. Both countries had Confucian examinations, temples of literature and doctoral stelae. The rite for Confucius at Hanoi's Temple of Literature and the Seokjeon in Seoul share ritual roots, though they differ in scale and continuity. Koreans living in Vietnam keep ancestral rites at home, but that is private custom, not organised activity.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Confucianism
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism宋明理學 程朱學派, School of PrincipleThe school that built a full cosmology on principle and qi, with the investigation of things as its path.
Classical Confucianism先秦儒家, pre-Qin ConfuciansThe Confucianism of Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi, concerned with ethics and government rather than metaphysics.Lu-Wang School of Mind陸王心學, 陽明心學 (Xinxue)Holds that principle lies in the mind rather than in external things.Uses the common symbol of the pathHan Confucianism漢儒, Han-era Confucian learningDong Zhongshu urged setting aside other schools and making Confucianism the sole state orthodoxy.Uses the common symbol of the pathQing Evidential Learning考證學 kaozhengxue, 樸學, Han learning 漢學In the Qing, scholars turned to philological research to recover the sages' words, called Han learning in contrast to the moral philosophy of Song learning.Uses the common symbol of the pathNew Confucianism新儒家, 當代新儒學A 20th-century current answering the May Fourth critique, accepting Western science and democracy while keeping the learning of mind and nature.Uses the common symbol of the path
Vietnamese ConfucianismNho học, Hội Tư văn, Văn MiếuConfucianism became a system in Vietnam under the Lý, with the Temple of Literature in 1070, the first examination in 1075 and the Imperial Academy in 1076.Korean Confucianism, Sungkyunkwan성균관 成均館 Seonggyungwan, 유교 YugyoSungkyunkwan was founded in Hanyang on 25 September 1398 and is today Korea's Confucian body.Uses the common symbol of the path
Confucian Religion in IndonesiaAgama Khonghucu, MATAKIN (Majelis Tinggi Agama Khonghucu Indonesia)Confucianism organised as a religion with a council, houses of worship and rites, one of Indonesia's six officially recognised religions.IXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Is Sungkyunkwan today a university or a religious body?
There are two entities. Sungkyunkwan University is a modern university. Sungkyunkwan as a Confucian organisation looks after Munmyo and the hyanggyo and performs the Seokjeon rite. Both share the same historical roots.
When is the Seokjeon Daeje held?
Twice a year, in May and September, at Munmyo in Seoul and at local hyanggyo. It features ritual music and the eight-row dance.
How many Koreans are Confucian?
About 0.2 percent identified as Confucian in the 2015 census. Asked differently, around half consider themselves Confucian. The answer depends on the question.