Dongnae Go Map

This is a coloured pictorial map in bird's-eye-view style, painted in ink and light colour on paper, depicting the old Dongnae-gun (Dongnae County), centred on Dongnaeseong Fortress in the 19th century and bounded by Cheongsapo to the east, the Nakdonggang River to the west, Molundae to the south, and Dugu-dong and Bansong-dong to the north. Among maps centred on Busan, the only example from the early Joseon period is the 'Busanpo-do' (Map of Busanpo) found in Sin Suk-ju's Haedong Jegukgi; there were no notable maps through the mid-Joseon period, and finely detailed maps became increasingly common from the late to the final years of Joseon. About 150 maps centred on Busan have been identified to date. The detailed regional maps produced intensively in the late Joseon period fall into several groups: the Hongmungwan series, made by the Hongmungwan (Office of Special Advisers) for local administration; the Bibyeonsa series, made by the Bibyeonsa (Border Defence Council) for military purposes; the Gyujanggak series, made for the royal court to assess resources; and the local prefecture series, compiled locally to publish gazetteers and record regional conditions. This map belongs to the local prefecture series. It follows the same format as the Dongnae Busanjido (Old Map of Dongnae-Busan), held by the National Library of Korea, and the Dongnae Gunhyeonjido (Map of Dongnae County), held by the Gyujanggak and made around 1872, but it emphasises mountain ranges and depicts roads and major streams in relatively fine, bird's-eye detail, making it the most precise of its kind. In terms of content, it covers every government office within the jurisdiction of Dongnae-bu, and also depicts temples, scenic spots and pavilions in detail. The administrative units marked include the central Eupnae-myeon, together with Buk-myeon, Seosang-myeon, Dongsang-myeon, Dongha-myeon, Sasang-myeon, Saha-myeon, Namchon-myeon, Busan-myeon and Dongpyeong-myeon. In 1868, the fifth year of Emperor Gojong, Dongpyeong-myeon was divided into Dongpyeong-myeon and Busan-myeon, and Sacheon-myeon was divided into Sasang-myeon and Saha-myeon; since the map already shows this division, it must have been made no earlier than 1868. Furthermore, since the place name Gamcheon-ri appears on the map, and among local gazetteers this name first appears only in the Dongnaebu Eupji (Gazetteer of Dongnae-bu) compiled in 1899, the map is presumed to date from around that time. Overall, the mountains and streams, fortress walls and government offices, breakwaters and ships are depicted in great detail, making this a typical pictorial map that gives an easy understanding of the Busan region of the time. It uses a bird's-eye viewpoint to allow the whole area to be surveyed at once, and its composition—dividing the land in the upper section from the sea in the lower section along a diagonal line—captures well the coastal character of Busan. This style can be seen as connected to the tradition of jingyeong sansuhwa (true-view landscape painting) of the Jeong Seon school from the late to the final years of Joseon.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seo-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산