Episode 9 | Choe Chi-won and Museong Seowon — A Philosophy of Harmony
Series OverviewEpisode 1 | Why the World Took Notice of Korea's SeowonEpisode 2 | An Hyang and Sosu Seowon — The Beginning of Korean EducationEpisode 3 | Yi Hwang and Dosan Seowon — How Learning Shapes CharacterEpisode 4 | Ryu Seong-ryong and Byeongsan Seowon — Leadership That Protected a NationEpisode 5 | Yi Eon-jeok and Oksan Seowon — Philosophy Perfected in NatureEpisode 6 | Kim Goeng-pil and…
Museong Seowon, located in Chilbo-myeon, Jeongeup in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, is a unique Korean academy that stands close to fields, houses, roads, and the everyday life of the village, rather than being hidden away in a secluded mountain valley. The academy honors seven figures, including Choe Chi-won, a cosmopolitan scholar of Silla who traveled to Tang China at a young age, passed the Tang civil service examination, and became one of the most celebrated intellectuals of late Silla.
Choe’s writings reveal engagement with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoist thought, as well as concern for universal human principles beyond national boundaries. He was a cosmopolitan Korean intellectual more than a millennium ago, embodying the idea that learning should return the scholar to society as a better human being. In 2019, Museong Seowon became one of the nine properties collectively inscribed by UNESCO as "Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies."
Brief written by urgent.news from Korea IT Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
