Visit February 2020 – I managed to visit 5 of the inscribed 9 Seowons on my road trip through Korea. In general, the visits of all Seowons were fairly similar. They mostly have the same buildings (dormitories, lecture halls, library, shrine and walls with a gate) that look the same. Entry to all but Sosu Seowon was free and you frankly don’t need much more than 15 minutes to visit a location. They all have info plates in English on premise and a nice “this is a world heritage site” stone in front of each Seowon. You will find free parking close to each Seowon, but most of the might be a bit tricky to reach with public transport.

Donam Seowon
Donam is only a short detour while driving between the different Baekje locations. The Seowon is very close to the main road and the landscape is rather unspectacular and flat. Nevertheless I enjoyed the short visit as the weather was nice and I was the only visitor.

Museong Seowon
Museong is a short detour on the way between Wanggung-ri and the Gochang Dolmen Site. It is also located close to a bigger road and in an unspectacular location. Next to the Seowon is a newer Seowon, that is not part of the WHS. I skipped Pilam, because I simply ran out of time (and sunlight) for the day

Namgye Seowon
The Seowon is on route between Seonsamsa and Haeinsa Temple, very close to the express way and Hamyang, where I spent my night. So I made a quick visit before sundown. The Seowon is built on a hill, elevation some buildings over the others and giving the whole location more beauty. Dodong Seowon would have been direction Gyeongju, but is actually too far off the main road which would have resulted in a massive time loss. So I skipped it. I also skipped Oksan Seowon the next day, as again, I ran out of sunlight, but managed to visit Donggangseowon and the Yangdong village close to this Seowon.

Byeongsan Seowon
This Seowon is a short, but not as short as expected, detour from Hahoe village. It is located at the end of a far too long and small dirt road. The location is nice, as there are not many other houses and it is tucked between a river and a hill. Nevertheless I would only recommend it for two reasons: you are a completist like me and want to visit as many as possible, or you are a minimalist and this your only Seowon because it is close to Hahoe. I skipped Dosan, as it was too far off my route.

Sosu Seowon
Sosu was on my way back from Hahoe to Seoul. I combined the Seowon with Buseoksa and the Ondal mountain fortress located in the same region. The Seowon is much bigger and more interesting than the others I visited. It is only the Seowon with a (low) entrance fee. It was also the only location where buildings were accessible. The lecture hall had a display of scriptures and the Seowon is located very nicely. You need to pass a small forest between the ticket desk and the entrance. If you limit yourself to only one Seowon I would recommend this one.