Dongyeodo (Atlas of the Eastern State) (2002)

Dongyeodo is a hand-drawn, coloured map of the whole country, believed to have been produced by Kim Jeong-ho, known as Gosanja, during the reigns of King Cheoljong and Emperor Gojong. It takes the form of a folding album that can be folded and unfolded like a screen. It consists of 23 volumes in total: the first volume is a table of contents, and volumes 1 to 22 depict the geography of each region, giving it a format similar to that of the Daedong yeojido. The map marks mountains and rivers together with the boundaries between prefectures and counties, and shows the roads connecting them. On this base are marked military camps and garrisons, prefectures and counties, forts and outposts, post roads, pasturage offices, districts, storehouses, beacon stations, royal tombs, fortifications, roads, and checkpoints. Distances on the map are indicated on the first page of the first volume, where a grid is drawn and marked "each square is ten li on a side," showing that the actual distance represented by each square is ten li. Dongyeodo is the most beautifully, precisely and accurately drawn of the manuscript copies of the Daedong yeojido known to date. Its cartographic skill rivals that of maps produced at the Royal Bureau of Painting, and with its outstanding drawing, calligraphy and colouring, it is regarded as one of the representative works showing the high level of Joseon-period mapmaking technique.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물