Dongguk daejido (Great Map of the Eastern State)

This is a large single-scroll map of the whole of Joseon, measuring 272.2 by 137.9 cm, its coverage extending across Joseon and part of Manchuria. It is made of fine silk (segyeon) joined from three panels, and its meticulous brushwork suggests it was painted by a court painter of the Dohwaseo, the Royal Bureau of Painting. The overall depiction of Joseon, and the type and amount of information it records, are identical to the lineage of the original Dongguk jido (Map of the Eastern State) by Jeong Sang-gi (1678-1752). The map records the place names Saneum and Aneum in the form used before 1767, when they were changed to Sancheong and Aneui, indicating that it was made between 1755 and 1757. Its inclusion of Manchuria suggests that it is an early government copy based on Jeong Sang-gi's original whole-country map, Dongguk jido. Jeong Sang-gi's Dongguk jido marked an innovative turning point compared with maps of Joseon in the earlier tradition, both in accuracy and in the amount of information recorded. As Jeong Sang-gi's original Dongguk jido is known not to survive today, this Dongguk daejido, judged to be closest to that lost original, holds great value both academically and as a piece of cultural heritage.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물