2023 Photo Exhibition of ‘Seodang Saenghwal Girok’

Subtitle: The Space of Life and Learning 'Seodang' Following the Footsteps of Hakdong

The exhibition "Records of Seodang Life Through Photographs" will be held for six days from Saturday, November 11 to Thursday, November 16 at Jiota, a hanok gallery in Jongno-gu.

The Korea Traditional Seodang Culture Promotion Association (Chairman Park Seong-gi) has been conducting the "Traditional Seodang Culture Archive" project since 2020 to review how seodangs have maintained their legacy over the past 100 years alongside Korea's modern history, and to document seodang culture as a treasure trove of traditional culture.

After selecting collected materials, a photo exhibition titled The Path of Seodang Through Modern and Contemporary Times was held in 2022, and this year, the second planned exhibition will be held under the theme Space of Life and Learning, Seodang.

This exhibition, subtitled "Following the Footsteps of Hakdong," is a seodang record exhibition capturing the learning and practice process of young hakdong (students) as they grow into adults. Through photographs depicting the hakdong’s life and learning process at seodang, visitors will have the opportunity to indirectly experience their lives by examining teaching tools actually used in seodang and the overall seodang lifestyle. The exhibition theme is divided into three main categories: curriculum, teaching tools, and daily life. A timeline arranged chronologically by educational process and lifestyle allows visitors to see the overall flow of seodang education.

Han Jae-woo, Secretary General of the Korea Traditional Seodang Culture Promotion Association, said, “Seodang, originating from Goguryeo’s gyeongdang, has been passed down for over 1,600 years as Korea’s unique traditional educational culture and is regarded as the root of elementary education in Korea.” He added, “Seodang education emphasizes that learning does not end with learning itself but continues into practice in life. The spirit of unity of knowledge and action (知行合一, Jiheng Hab-il) is central to this process, and we hope this exhibition will resonate with our society today.”