YULGOK HISTORICAL SITE

This shrine is dedicated to the memory of Yi Yi (1536-1584, Yulgok by his pen name), an important neo-Confucian philosopher and Joseon statesman. He was born near Gangneung (Ojuk-eon), but his paternal family came from the Paju region. The Yulgokni village from which he took his pen name was founded by his great-great-grandfather Yi Myeong-sin. He liked to meditate at the Hwaseokjeong pavilion located 8 km away, above the Imjin River, not far from Yulgokni. The shrine was founded a few years after his death in 1615, and converted into a private Confucian academy(seowon) in 1649. Unfortunately, it was razed to the ground by order of regent Daewon-gun in 1868, when he closed most of the country's seowon. The shrine has now been rebuilt and contains Yulgok's tablets as well as those of two of his disciples. A ceremony and small festival are held here every October. On a small hill at the far end of the park are the tombs of Yulgok, his wife, his father and his mother. The latter, Sim Sa-imdang, is one of the country's most renowned female artists, and everyone knows her name. She was a painter and poet, but also a philosopher. A small museum displays reproductions of her works (some of the originals are in Ojuk-eon). She specialized in bucolic scenes depicting insects, grapes and other plants. There's not much to see, to be honest, but the park is pleasant nonetheless.