[1][2] Hongsalmun, also called hongjeonmun or hongmun,[3] are usually erected to indicate Korean Confucian sites, such as shrines, tombs, and academies such as hyanggyo and seowon.

[4] Hongsalmun literally means ‘gate with red arrows’, referring to the set of pointed spikes on its top.

In the middle top gate the symbol of the trident and the taegeuk image are placed.

[1] The hongsalmun gate opens to a path that leads toward the front of hyanggyo and the hamabi or the "memorial dismount stone".

[3][6] The gate can also be found inside a seowon,[7] a privately owned complex that served as a Confucian shrine and preparatory school.