Dongnae Busando Painting Bottle

This work is a ten-panel folding screen depicting the whole of Dongnae in the early twentieth century — that is, the territory of present-day Busan — with place names added throughout the painting. It covers every myeon (township) of Dongnae-bu as well as Busan-myeon of Busan-bu. It feels less like a map than a series of landscape paintings: the shapes of the mountains and rivers, the scenery around the fortress walls, temples, harbours and ships are all skilfully rendered, and the colours are used harmoniously. Rather than planning the overall composition in advance, each panel was composed individually, with the place names written in at their respective positions. Judging from the presence of steamships in the painting, it must have been produced after steamship travel to and from Busan had become common, and before the opening of the Gyeongbu Railway Line in 1905. In terms of government offices, it postdates the establishment of the Dongnae Superintendent's Office (Dongnae Gamniseo) in 1883, and depicts the period when Waegwan — originally a Joseon-era settlement for trade with Japan — had become an exclusive Japanese concession and was known as Ilgwan. In terms of administrative districts, it postdates the creation of Busan-myeon, during the period when Gupo still belonged to Yangsan-gun. The work can therefore be judged to have been produced around the time when, following the loss of diplomatic sovereignty in 1905, the Busan Residency was established, Waegwan came to be referred to as the exclusive Japanese concession, and Busan-myeon was newly redrawn. This landscape-style map is valuable material for understanding the changes Busan underwent, following the opening of the port, before the Japanese colonial period's construction of the Bukbin pier, the Nambin land reclamation project, and the levelling of Yeongseonsan hill. Although somewhat later in date, it depicts the layout of the government offices in the Busan region at the time in considerable detail, making it important material for the study of architectural history, and it is regarded as an outstanding example among paintings by local artists.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Nam-gu, Busan

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료