Nakdeokjeong

Nakdeokjeong (樂德亭) is a pavilion in Sangsong-ri, Bokheung-myeon, Sunchang County, Jeonbuk State, South Korea. It was designated Cultural Heritage Material No. 72 of Cultural Heritage Materials of Jeollabuk-do on April 1, 1984.

Overview

Kim In-hu, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Joseon period during the reign of King Injong, fell ill and resigned from office after King Injong suddenly died in 1545, returning to his hometown of Jangseong.

Soon after, the Eulsa Purge broke out, and in 1548 he took up residence in Jeomam village, Dunjeon-ri, Ssangchi-myeon of this same Sunchang County, where his wife's family was from. Living in seclusion to escape the world, he built a thatched study, Hunmongjae (訓蒙齋), on the cliff of Jeomam beside the stream, and lectured to disciples including Yang Ja-jing (Goam) and Jo Hee-mun (Wolgye) and others, holding thoughts of detachment from worldly affairs.

Upstream lies Nakdeokam (樂德巖), where Kim In-hu rested, wandered, and gave lectures and recitations. The surrounding springs, stones, and wooded hills were the outstanding scenery of his "Wuyi" (武夷).¹

In February 1549 he wrote the postscript to the Daehak Ganggui (《大學講義》) and obtained Cheonmyeongdo (《天命圖》) by Jeong Ji-un (Chuman), which he revised and expanded substantially, writing Cheonmyeongdo (《天命圖》) that presented an outstanding insight into the essence of human nature. In the summer and autumn he was appointed to a post in the Sungkyunkwan's records office but did not take it up. In October, he suffered the death of his father, Chambong Gong, and returned to his hometown of Jangseong.

In 1900 (the 37th year of King Gojong), his descendant Kim No-su (小山 金魯洙),² who lived in Sangsong-ri of this area, and others, to honor the scholarly virtue of their ancestor , repaired an octagonal single-story building in the dense forest above Nakdeokam, which often visited, and named it (樂德亭) after the rock.