A total project cost of 11 billion KRW invested...
Completion targeted for 2026
Creating a "Seowon Stay" to experience the scholarship and spirit of Gi Daeseung
The city of Gwangju will establish the "Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex," an urban seowon stay where visitors can experience the scholarly spirit of Gobong Gi Daeseung.
According to the city on the 10th, the Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex will link the scholarly spirit of Gi Daeseung with the spirit of democracy, human rights, and peace of the National Asia Culture Center (ACC). The plan includes expanding the hanok village to make it a representative healing travel destination in the Honam region.
The city will invest a total project cost of 11 billion KRW to construct the Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex, which will have one basement floor and two above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 1,986 square meters. Construction will begin on the 24th, with completion targeted for June 2026.
The Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex will feature a traditional hanok-style structure with a tiled paljak roof. It will include multi-purpose spaces such as medium and small lecture rooms for discussions and academic activities in Korean traditional culture and arts, training facilities accommodating 40 to 50 people, and a "yukye" room for tea ceremony experiences.
This project is part of the Asian Culture Hub City initiative. By connecting the scholarly spirit of Gobong Gi Daeseung with the ACC's values of democracy, human rights, and peace, the complex will serve as a training center with multiple functions, allowing visitors to stay in Gwangju and experience traditional Korean seonbi culture.
Upon completion, the Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex will be reborn as a seowon stay where visitors can experience and immerse themselves in the scholarship and scholarly spirit of Gobong Gi Daeseung.
The city plans to utilize the cultural resources of the adjacent Wolbong Seowon, a cultural heritage site, and collaborate with the Dosan Seowon Training Center in Andong, which enshrines Toegye Yi Hwang, to promote exchanges of traditional Korean historical culture between the Yeongnam and Honam regions.
Lee Seungkyu, Director of the New Vitality Promotion Headquarters, said, "The Wolbong Seowon Experience Complex was able to break ground thanks to the active cooperation of the residents of Gwanggok Village and the free provision of land by the Gi Daeseung family clan. When the complex is completed and the hanok village is developed, Wolbong Hanok Village will become a place where visitors can experience hanok and traditional culture. It will grow into Honam's representative healing travel destination, where domestic and international visitors can stay long-term and experience our traditional culture."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
