Songpa Book Museum Sold-Out Lecture 'Classical Academy' Operating from This Month

A Reading of the Essential Seodang Text 'Dongmongseonseup'

Exterior view of Songpa Book Museum.

Seongpa-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced on the 16th that it will operate a 'Classics Academy' for adults at the Songpa Book Museum.

Opened in 2019, the Songpa Book Museum is Korea's first public book museum, offering various cultural experience opportunities to residents through exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs related to books.

The Classics Academy is a reading program that deeply reads classics and enhances understanding through explanatory lectures. Last year's academy was very popular among residents, with all sessions fully booked early.

Encouraged by residents' enthusiasm, this year the program will be expanded to 10 lectures. The instructor will be Professor Ahn Seung-jun of Korea University, a master of ancient document research, continuing from last year.

This time, the classic is "Dongmong Seonseup," a required reading book in Joseon Dynasty Seodang (village schools). As the title means "a book that young students first learn," it was a textbook used after learning the "Thousand Character Classic" in Seodang, containing the core Confucian ethics of the Five Relationships (Oryun, 五倫) and Korean history.

In particular, this lecture will be conducted in the 'Seodang-style chanting' method, the way students studied in old village schools. The instructor leads the chant, and students follow along like singing, making the class more engaging. The academy schedule runs from this month to July, every Tuesday from 10:30 AM for 2 hours, totaling 10 sessions, and a certificate of completion will be awarded after the course.

District Mayor Seo Gang-seok stated, "We will continue to prepare various reading culture events to expand cultural enjoyment opportunities for residents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.