Walking past the modern university buildings of Sungkyunkwan University in Myeongnyun-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, visitors come upon an old gray stone wall enclosing a world of deep quiet. Stepping through the three-entrance spirit gate, visitors stand before the solemn Hall of Great Achievement (Daeseongjeon) raised on a stone terrace in a broad courtyard, while passing into the northern compound reveals the Lecture Hall (Myeongnyundang) flanked by the long East and West Dormitories. In the courtyard before Myeongnyundang, two colossal ancient ginkgo trees rising more than twenty meters spread their canopies across the sky, carpeting the stone steps in thick golden leaves every autumn.
This is the unified complex of Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan (Văn Miếu và Thành Quân Quán, 文廟成均館), the supreme center of Confucian ritual and state higher education throughout the five centuries of the Joseon dynasty. Whereas Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul is where the royal house venerated its bloodline ancestors, Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan is where the state venerated the intellectual and moral lineage of Confucius and the sages while educating the scholar-officials who governed the Korean Peninsula, directly paralleling the Temple of Literature and Imperial Academy (Văn Miếu Quốc Tử Giám) in Hanoi, Vietnam.
IConfucius, the Four Assessors, and the Eighteen Sages of the East
The double name of the monument reflects its two inseparable functions: Munmyo (Văn Miếu, 文廟) is the shrine dedicated to Confucius (King Munseon) and the Confucian sages, while Sungkyunkwan (Thành Quân Quán, 成均館) is the highest national academy of the state. The name Sungkyun comes from the classical Rites of Zhou: sung (thành) means bringing to completion what is lacking in human nature, and kyun (quân) means harmonizing what is excessive or deficient in social customs through rite and music. Because the Joseon dynasty adopted Neo-Confucianism (the school of Principle of Zhu Xi) as its sole state philosophy, scholars from across the eight provinces who passed the preliminary literary examinations (Saengwon or Jinsa) were required to reside at Sungkyunkwan both to study the classics for the higher civil service examination (Mungwa) and to participate in sacrificial rites to the sages at Munmyo.
The ritual heart of Munmyo is the Hall of Great Achievement (Daeseongjeon, 大成殿). Breaking with the Goryeo practice of venerating painted clay statues, from the early Joseon period Seoul Munmyo enshrined only wooden spirit tablets. At the center of Daeseongjeon facing south stands the spirit tablet of Confucius. Flanked to the east and west inside the main hall are the Four Assessors (Tứ Phối: Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi, and Mencius), followed by the Ten Wise Ones (Thập Triết, ten principal disciples of Confucius) and the Six Sages of Northern Song (Shao Yong, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai, and Zhu Xi).
The most distinctive feature of the Korean Confucian pantheon at Munmyo lies in the enshrinement of the Eighteen Sages of the East (Dongbang Siphyeon, 東方十八賢), originally housed in the Eastern and Western Subsidiary Shrines (Dongmu and Seomu) flanking the courtyard. These are the 18 most eminent Confucian scholars in Korean history approved by royal decree for enshrinement alongside the Chinese masters. Their ranks span three dynasties: two from Unified Silla, namely Seol Chong (Tiết Thông, who devised the Idu script system) and Choe Chi-won (Thôi Trí Viễn), two from Goryeo, namely An Hyang (An Hướng, who introduced Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism to Korea) and Jeong Mong-ju (Trịnh Mộng Chu), and fourteen from Joseon, including Kim Gwoeng-pil, Jo Gwang-jo, Yi Eon-jeok, and the twin peaks of Korean philosophical thought, Toegye Yi Hwang (Thoái Khê Lý Hoàng, 1501 to 1570) and Yulgok Yi I (Lật Cốc Lý Nhị, 1536 to 1584), along with Song Si-yeol and Song Jun-gil. For a Joseon scholar, posthumous enshrinement in Munmyo (Munmyo baehyang) was the highest intellectual and moral honor attainable, surpassing any noble title held in life.
According to the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, during the reign of the deposed ruler Yeonsangun (reigned 1494 to 1506), Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan suffered an unprecedented desecration: the ruler expelled the students, removed the spirit tablets, and turned Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang into banquet halls for courtesans and hunting grounds. Immediately upon ascending the throne in 1506, King Jungjong ordered the entire precinct ritually purified, returned the spirit tablets of Confucius and the sages to Daeseongjeon, and restored the academic curriculum of Sungkyunkwan.
Comparing Confucian temples across East Asia reveals a telling architectural distinction. In China (such as the Beijing Temple of Confucius) and in Vietnam (Văn Miếu Quốc Tử Giám in Hanoi), the classic layout places either the academy on the left and shrine on the right, or the shrine in front and academy behind along a single straight axis. When Seoul's Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan were founded in 1398, they followed the shrine in front, academy behind (tiền miếu hậu học) plan with Daeseongjeon to the south and Myeongnyundang to the north. Later provincial Confucian schools (hyanggyo) built on sloping hillsides across Korea frequently reversed this into academy in front, shrine behind (tiền học hậu miếu) so the shrine stood higher up the slope, whereas Sungkyunkwan in the capital preserved its original 1398 front-shrine, rear-academy layout.
IIFrom the Goryeo Directorate of Education to East Asia's Oldest University
State Confucian higher education on the Korean Peninsula began in 372 with the Taehak of Goguryeo, continued with the Gukhak of Unified Silla in 682 and the Gukjagam of Goryeo in 992 (renamed Sungkyunkwan in 1308). After the Joseon dynasty moved the capital to Seoul, King Taejo constructed the new Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan complex at its present site in Myeongnyun-dong in 1398.
- 1398Founding of Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan in HanyangIn the seventh month of the seventh year of King Taejo of Joseon (1398), Daeseongjeon, the East and West Shrines, Myeongnyundang, and the East and West Dormitories were completed in the northeastern quarter of the capital.
- 1400 to 1407First fire and reconstruction under King TaejongIn 1400, an accidental fire destroyed Munmyo. King Taejong ordered its reconstruction, which was completed in 1407.
- 1475Construction of Jongyeonggak LibraryKing Seongjong built Jongyeonggak (Tôn Kinh Các) north of Myeongnyundang as the first national university library, housing over ten thousand volumes of Confucian classics.
- 1519Planting of the twin ginkgo trees before MyeongnyundangIn the 14th year of King Jungjong, the scholar Yun Tak (Doãn Trác, 1472 to 1534), chancellor of Sungkyunkwan, planted two ginkgo trees in the courtyard before Myeongnyundang.
- 1592 to 1606Rebuilding of Daeseongjeon (1602) and Myeongnyundang (1606)The entire compound was burned down during the Imjin War in 1592. Following the war, King Seonjo rebuilt Daeseongjeon in 1602 and completed Myeongnyundang along with the East and West Dormitories in 1606.
- 1895Modern educational reform in late JoseonThe court abolished the old civil service examinations and established a modern three-year Department of Classics (Gyeonghak-gwa) at Sungkyunkwan.
- 1964 and 1969Designated National Historic Site and TreasuresIn 1964, Seoul Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan were designated National Historic Site No. 143 (with the ginkgo trees designated Natural Monument No. 59 in 1962). In 1969, Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang were designated Treasures No. 141 and No. 142.
On the Eighteen Korean Sages and the 39 enshrined tablets. Over the centuries, the number of spirit tablets enshrined at Seoul Munmyo underwent periodic revision. During the Joseon period, alongside Confucius, the Four Assessors, and the Ten Wise Ones in the main hall, the Eastern and Western Subsidiary Shrines (Dongmu and Seomu) housed more than a hundred tablets of Han, Tang, Song, and Korean scholars. Following ritual reforms in the 20th century, the roster was consolidated: today the interior of Daeseongjeon enshrines 39 spirit tablets in total (comprising Confucius, the Four Assessors, the Ten Wise Ones, the Six Song Sages, and the 18 Korean Confucian Sages moved into the main hall from the side shrines after 1945 for safekeeping and honor). Traditional architectural descriptions, however, still refer to the classic Joseon arrangement of 19 tablets in Daeseongjeon and the 18 Korean Sages in Dongmu and Seomu.
IIIDaeseongjeon, Myeongnyundang, and the Five-Century Ginkgo Canopy
Covering more than 32,000 square meters, the Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan precinct is divided into two distinct architectural compounds: the Ritual Zone (Munmyo) to the south and the Academic Zone (Sungkyunkwan) to the north, separated by a walled partition with a connecting gate. The Ritual Zone centers on Daeseongjeon (Đại Thành Điện), rebuilt in 1602 atop a high granite platform reached by two sets of stone steps on the south facade, with a sloped stone slab carved with dragons and clouds set between the steps. Measuring 5 bays across the front by 4 bays deep, the hall is crowned by a grand hip-and-gable (paljak) tiled roof supported by multi-cluster bracket sets, round red-painted columns, and refined multicolored eaves painting. Flanking the courtyard before Daeseongjeon are the 11-bay Eastern and Western Subsidiary Shrines (Dongmu and Seomu), closed on the south by the three-door Spirit Gate (Sinsammun).
Passing through the connecting gate into the northern Academic Zone, the centerpiece is Myeongnyundang (Minh Luân Đường, 明倫堂, Hall of Clarifying Human Relations), rebuilt in 1606 under the supervision of Chief State Councillor Ryu Seong-ryong. The name Myeongnyun is drawn from Mencius (stating that the purpose of schools across the Three Dynasties is to clarify human moral relations). The building features a distinctive three-part silhouette: the central three-bay lecture hall rises high under a hip-and-gable roof where lectures and royal visits took place, while the two flanking wings on the east and west have lower roofs and served as offices and study rooms for the professors. Stretching parallel before Myeongnyundang are the 20-bay East and West Dormitories (Dongjae and Seojae), which housed 200 elite Confucian scholars in residence.
Treasure of South Korea (formerly No. 141). The main ritual hall of Munmyo, measuring 5 bays wide by 4 bays deep. The wooden name plaque hanging beneath the front eaves was brushed by Han Seok-bong (Hàn Thạch Phong, 1543 to 1605), the foremost calligrapher of the Joseon dynasty.
Treasure of South Korea (formerly No. 142). The central lecture hall of Sungkyunkwan. Its bold wooden name plaque inside the central bay was written in 1606 by the visiting Ming dynasty envoy Zhu Zhifan (Chu Chi Phiên) shortly after the hall was rebuilt.
Natural Monument of South Korea No. 59 (designated in 1962), planted in 1519 in the courtyard before Myeongnyundang, standing roughly 21 to 26 meters tall with trunk circumferences exceeding 7 meters. In Confucian lore, Confucius taught his disciples at the Apricot Altar (or Ginkgo Altar, Hạnh Đàn), making the ginkgo tree the emblem of Confucian learning. Notably, both trees at Sungkyunkwan are male ginkgo trees, chosen deliberately because female trees drop pungent fruit that Confucian educators wished to keep out of the study courtyard.
Symmetrical residential wings flanking the courtyard of Myeongnyundang. During the Joseon period, residing scholars lined up twice daily at the sound of the academy drum (Tanguk-go) to sign the dining register at the Jinsasikdang refectory, accumulating attendance points required to sit for the higher civil service exam.
Located east and north of Myeongnyundang. Bicheondang (built in 1664) served as the special examination hall where Joseon kings personally administered state exams, while Jongyeonggak (founded in 1475) functioned as the academy's library of Confucian classics.
Outside the main entrance stands the granite Dismounting Stele inscribed with the command: All officials and commoners, high and low, must dismount from their horses here. Before the gate flows a small stream crossed by a stone bridge symbolizing Bansoo (Phán Thủy, the semicircular moat of classical Zhou dynasty state academies).
| Structure or monument | Surviving date | Heritage status and role |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan Complex | Founded 1398, rebuilt early 17th century | National Historic Site of South Korea No. 143 (designated 1964) |
| Daeseongjeon (Hall of Great Achievement) | Rebuilt in 1602 (reign of King Seonjo) | Treasure of South Korea (formerly No. 141), enshrines Confucius and 38 sages |
| Myeongnyundang (Lecture Hall) | Rebuilt in 1606 (reign of King Seonjo) | Treasure of South Korea (formerly No. 142), main lecture hall of the national academy |
| Ginkgo Trees of Seoul Munmyo | Planted in 1519 (reign of King Jungjong) | National Natural Monument No. 59 (designated 1962) |
IVThe Lie of the Land
In the capital-planning thought of early Joseon scholar-statesmen such as Jeong Do-jeon, placing Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan in the northeastern quarter of Hanyang harmonized both with the Book of Changes (where the Northeast belongs to the trigram Gen / Mountain, the direction where all things bring the old to completion and initiate the new, fitting the cultivation of young scholars) and with the natural topography of Mount Bugaksan. The section below reads the actual terrain of the precinct through the library's comparative framework of traditional landform geomancy.
Examining the mountain veins at coordinates 37.5855 degrees north, 126.9963 degrees east, Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan rest inside a gentle, sheltered valley embraced by the eastern ridge descending from the guardian mountain Bugaksan (Bắc Nhạc) toward Naksan (Lạc Sơn, the Azure Dragon ridge on the eastern side of old Seoul). The wooded hill rising directly behind Myeongnyundang and Jongyeonggak to the north forms a solid rear backing (hậu chẩm) that blocks cold northern winds and keeps the academic compound quiet for reciting the classics and philosophical reflection. Two gentle lateral slopes running along the east and west sides act like the arms of a scholar's chair embracing the level courtyard in the center, helping vital energy settle upon the courtyards of Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang.
In terms of orientation and water course, both Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang follow an axis that sits North and faces South (angled slightly with the valley contour), receiving warm southern sunlight throughout the day. In traditional geomancy associated with Confucian academies, a state university requires water flowing in front or around it, known as Bansoo (Phán Thủy, 泮水), to temper excess fire qi and nourish literary vitality. At Seoul's Sungkyunkwan, two natural mountain brooks descending from the northern ravines run along the outer eastern and western walls of the compound and converge directly in front of the main southern entrance before flowing into Cheonggyecheon Stream. This configuration of twin streams embracing the left and right flanks and uniting across the bright hall (minh đường) was prized by Joseon scholars as an auspicious watercourse fostering literary achievement and clear judgment.
VThe Seokjeon Daeje Rite and Spring and Autumn Offerings to Confucius
For more than six centuries since 1398, the supreme ritual performed at Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan has been Seokjeon Daeje (Thích Điện Đại Tế, 釋奠大祭, the Grand Ceremony of Setting Out Offerings and Libations to the Sages), designated by the South Korean government as National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 85 in 1986. Following classical East Asian Confucian practice, the grand ceremony is held twice a year in spring and autumn, alongside incense offerings on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month. The table below outlines the schedule and liturgy of these rites.
| Date | Calendar system | Ritual name | Procedure and significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Ding day (Sangjeongil) of the 2nd and 8th lunar months (today also observed on May 11 and September 28, Confucius's birthday) | Traditional sexagenary lunar calendar paired with fixed solar dates | Spring and Autumn Seokjeon Daeje (Grand Rite to Confucius) | Confucian elders and scholars from across Korea dressed in ceremonial robes gather before Daeseongjeon to perform the classical sequence: offering silk (Jeonpyerye), the First, Second, and Final Wine Libations (Choheon, Aheon, Jongheon), subsidiary libations (Bunheon), partaking of sacrificial wine and meat (Eumbok), and burning the written prayers and silk offerings (Mangnyo). |
| Throughout the Seokjeon Daeje ceremony | Fixed liturgical music and dance sequence | Munmyo Ritual Music (Munmyo Jeryeak) and Eight-Row Dance (Ilmu) | Two court orchestras perform the classical ritual music suite Eungan-ji-ak derived from Northern Song Dasheng music transmitted to Goryeo in 1116, while 64 dancers (arranged in 8 rows by 8 columns) holding vertical flutes (yak) and pheasant-feather wands (jeok) perform the solemn Civil Dance. |
| 1st and 15th days of every month | Lunar calendar | New and Full Moon Incense Offering (Bunhyangnye) | Confucian scholars of Sungkyunkwan open the doors of Daeseongjeon to offer incense, bow four times, and read formal reports before the spirit tablets of Confucius and the sages. |
| Beginning of the spring semester (February or March) | Solar calendar | Matriculation Reporting Rite (Goyurye) of Sungkyunkwan University | Incoming university freshmen dressed in traditional blue scholar robes (Cheonggeum) join university leaders in the courtyard of Daeseongjeon to bow before Confucius and formally report the beginning of their academic studies. |
What makes Munmyo Jeryeak in Seoul priceless to world music history is its unbroken preservation of classical Aak (Nhã nhạc, 雅樂) originating from the court instruments and musical scores sent by Emperor Huizong of Northern Song China to the Goryeo court in 1116. Whereas in China itself the Song-era Confucian ritual music was lost or altered across the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, on the stone terrace before Daeseongjeon in Seoul those 12th-century bronze bells and stone chimes still ring out in their exact pitch and meter every spring and autumn.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- 31 Seonggyungwan-ro, Myeongnyun 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul (hoặc 25-1 Seonggyungwan-ro)
- Getting there
- The complex is located at 31 Seonggyungwan-ro (or 25-1 Seonggyungwan-ro), Jongno District, Seoul. Take Seoul Subway Line 4 to Hyehwa Station (Exit 4) and walk about 10 to 12 minutes up the street leading to the main gate of Sungkyunkwan University.
- Coordinates
- 37.5855, 126.9963
Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan sit directly beside the active modern campus of Sungkyunkwan University, where students attend classes and study daily. When visiting Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang, please maintain quiet, do not step on the carved dragon stone slab between the central steps of the main shrine, do not climb onto the wooden veranda of Myeongnyundang, and never cross the protective fence or touch the branches of the 500-year-old ginkgo trees.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Văn Miếu Thành Quân Quán (Sungkyunkwan)Everyone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
What is the difference between Munmyo and Sungkyunkwan?
The two names refer to the two functional zones of a single national complex founded in 1398 by King Taejo of Joseon under the layout of shrine in front, academy behind: Munmyo is the southern front zone centered on Daeseongjeon where sacrificial rites are offered to Confucius and the Confucian sages, while Sungkyunkwan is the northern rear zone centered on the Myeongnyundang lecture hall and dormitories, serving as the supreme national university of the state.
Who is enshrined inside Daeseongjeon at Seoul Munmyo?
Daeseongjeon enshrines wooden spirit tablets (without statues), centered on Confucius, flanked by the Four Assessors (Yan Hui, Zengzi, Zisi, Mencius), the Ten Wise Ones (ten principal disciples of Confucius), the Six Sages of Northern Song (led by Zhu Xi), and the Eighteen Sages of the East (18 eminent Korean Confucian scholars across Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon, including Seol Chong, Choe Chi-won, An Hyang, Jeong Mong-ju, Yi Hwang, and Yi I).
What is the history and meaning of the two ginkgo trees in front of Myeongnyundang?
The pair of ancient ginkgo trees in the Myeongnyundang courtyard was planted in 1519 under King Jungjong by the Sungkyunkwan chancellor Yun Tak. Now over 500 years old and designated National Natural Monument No. 59, they evoke the Apricot/Ginkgo Altar where Confucius taught his disciples. Both are male ginkgo trees, chosen so that no pungent fruit would fall in the study courtyard.
When does the Seokjeon Daeje ceremony take place, and what makes it unique?
Seokjeon Daeje is the state sacrificial rite honoring Confucius and the sages, held twice a year in spring and autumn (traditionally on the first Ding day of the second and eighth lunar months, and today also observed in May and on September 28). Designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 85, it preserves intact the 12th-century Northern Song ritual music (Aak) transmitted to Korea in 1116 alongside the 64-dancer Eight-Row Dance (Ilmu).
When were the surviving Daeseongjeon and Myeongnyundang buildings constructed?
Although the complex was originally built in 1398, its timber buildings were burned down during the Imjin War in 1592. Shortly after the war ended, King Seonjo's court rebuilt Daeseongjeon in 1602 and completed Myeongnyundang along with the East and West Dormitories in 1606. Both halls survive intact from the early 17th century and are designated Treasures of South Korea.