The Gukjagam, known at times as Gukhak or Seonggyungwan, was the highest educational institution of the
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
n
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
dynasty. It was located at the capital,
Gaegyeong (modern-day Kaesong), and provided advanced training in the
Chinese classics
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confuci ...
. It was established in 992 during the reign of
Seongjong. Its name has been changed to Songgyungam in 1298 and to Songgyungwan in 1308. Its current name is Koryo (/Goryeo) Songgyungwan University/University of Light Industry. A similar institution, known as the ''Gukhak'', had been established under
Unified Silla
Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...
, but it was not successful.
The Gukjagam was part of Seongjong's general program of Confucian reform, together with the ''
gwageo
The ''gwageo'' or ''kwago'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge of the Chinese clas ...
'' civil service examinations and the ''
hyanggyo'' provincial schools. It formed the cornerstone of the Confucian educational system he envisioned. In the waning days of Goryeo, the Gukjagam again became a centerpiece of reform through the policies of the early
Neo-Confucian
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in t ...
scholar
An Hyang
Ahn Hyang (안향, 安珦; 1243 – 12 September 1306), also known as Ahn Yu (안유, 安裕), was a leading Confucian scholar born in Yeongju in present-day South Korea, and was from the Sunheung Ahn clan. He is considered the founder of Neo-Con ...
.
Courses of study
In the beginning, the Gukjagam provided a total of six courses of study. Of these, three divisions were restricted to children of the highest-ranking officials: Gukjahak, Taehak, and Samunhak. These were a total of nine years long, and focused on the Confucian classics.
The other three divisions were open to children of officials as low as the 8th rank: Seohak (secretarial training), Sanhak (
arithmetic
Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers— addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th ...
), and Yulhak (law). Each of these took six years to complete, and focused on technical training with a heavy admixture of the classics.
A seventh division was added in 1104, in the reign of
Yejong: Gangyejae (강예재), providing military training. This was the first recorded occasion of a Korean dynasty providing formal training in the military arts. Due to tensions between the aristocracy and the military, it was soon removed from the curriculum, in 1133.
Finances
Seongjong's original edict of 992 provided land and slaves to support the school. However, the tuition remained prohibitive for most students not from wealthy families. In 1304, An Hyang levied a new tax which officials of the top 6 ranks had to pay in silver, and those of the lower ranks in cloth. This tax was used to defray the cost of tuition for the Gukjagam's students.
Names
The name was changed to Gukhak in 1275, upon the ascension of
King Chungnyeol. It was changed to Seonggyungam in 1298 and to Seonggyungwan in 1308, but then reverted to Gukjagam during the reign of
Gongmin
Gongmin of Goryeo (23 May 1330 – 27 October 1374), also known by his Mongolian name, Bayan Temür., was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of King Chungsuk.
Biography
Early life
Goryeo had been a semi-autonomou ...
in 1358. The Seonggyungwan name was adopted again in 1362, and continued in use until the fall of Goryeo thirty years later.
See also
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History of Korea
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.
Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825.
The earlies ...
*
History of education
The history of education extends at least as far back as the first written records recovered from ancient civilizations. Historical studies have included virtually every nation.
Education in ancient civilization
Middle East
Perhaps the earlie ...
*
Guozijian
The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the national central institution of higher learning in Chinese dynasties after the Su ...
*
Gukhak
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Seonggyungwan
Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...
(successor to the Gukjagam)
References
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{{coord missing, North Korea
Goryeo
Education in Korea
Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong