Daedong yeojido (Map of Korea)

The Daedong yeojido is a large-scale map compiled by the late Joseon geographer Kim Jeong-ho (pen name Gosanja), revising and expanding, twenty-seven years on, his own earlier map Cheonggudo, which he had made in 1834, the thirty-fourth year of King Sunjo. It takes the form of an album of accordion-folded map sheets. In terms of layout, the map is divided from north to south into 22 tiers at intervals of 120 ri, and from east to west into 19 sheets at intervals of 80 ri. The east–west sections are folded and joined to form a single folding volume (cheop) for ease of viewing; by unfolding each volume in turn and laying them out in sequence from north to south, the map can be read as a continuous whole. On the first tier, the title, year of publication and publisher are recorded, and, separately from the main map, a detailed map of the walled city of Seoul (Doseongdo) and a map of the capital's five districts (Gyeongjo obudo) are drawn. As for scale, the grid drawn at the head of the first tier notes that each square represents 10 ri, indicating the scale indirectly. This grid, serving as the map's coordinate system, divides each east–west-folded page into 12 squares from north to south and 8 squares from east to west, corresponding to 120 ri north–south and 80 ri east–west. The actual length of one page is about 30 cm north–south and about 20 cm east–west; since 20 cm east–west corresponds to 80 ri (32 km), the scale of the Daedong yeojido works out to roughly 1:160,000. As for its content, whereas ordinary maps typically show individual mountains and plains as they are, the Daedong yeojido places emphasis on depicting mountain ranges rather than individual peaks, and also organises river systems systematically. Roads are marked with red lines drawn nearly straight, with a mark placed every 10 ri, so that the distance between any two points can be found by counting the markers. Another distinctive feature is a legend of 14 categories, used to represent features by symbol wherever possible. The Daedong yeojido was first made in 1861 and printed by Kim Jeong-ho from woodblocks; a revised edition was then reissued in 1864, the first year of Emperor Gojong. The museum's copy is this 1864 reissue, displayed in the centre of the museum's second floor.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Geochang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산