Seongjeonggak.

Seong, the character for sincerity.

Jeong, the character for uprightness.

The name combines one character from each of two concepts found in the Confucian classic The Great Learning: seongui, making one’s intentions sincere, and jeongsim, setting one’s mind upright.

Make your intentions sincere.

Set your mind upright.

Contained within this short name is a Confucian idea: that governing others, and ultimately governing a country, begins with governing oneself.

During the late Joseon period, Seongjeonggak was a place where crown princes studied the Confucian classics and works of history.

Here, the crown prince attended seoyeon lessons held in the morning, at midday, and in the evening.

This exhibition focuses on Crown Prince Hyomyeong, the son of King Sunjo, and traces what he learned, and how he cultivated himself, in preparation for kingship.

For a crown prince, study was about more than acquiring knowledge.

It meant learning how to judge what was right.

How to listen to the counsel of officials.

And how to reflect on his own words and actions.

It is perhaps for this reason that this place was given the name Seongjeonggak.

First, make your intentions sincere.

Then, set your mind upright.

Learning to become a king began with learning to govern oneself.