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Piram Seowon - 필암서원 (筆巖書院) (built 1590 onward)

Piram Seowon is dedicated to the memory of Kim In-hu (known as Haseo, 1510-1560), an esteemed Confucian scholar who hailed from the area. Originally established in 1590 as Kim In-hu Seowon, the royal government granted it a charter in 1662 that changed its name to Piram Seowon and offered it land and slaves to ensure its continued prosperity. The site functioned as a Confucian academy where the sons of the yangban gentry studied Neo-Confucian scholarship and perpetuated Kim In-hu's school of learning.

For more background information about Korea's private Confucian academies (seowon), see the Byeongsan Seowon page on this website.

According to GPS readings collected by the author, the site is at 35 18.54429' N, 126 45.10926' E (WGS84 map datum). Address: 전남 장성군 황룡면 필암리 378-379.

(Designated Historical Site #242).

Plan view

Image adapted and redrawn following Seowon by Ahn, Jang-heon & Lee, Sang-hae.