Joseon bangyeok jido (Map of the Korean Territory)

Basic information

Designation

National Treasure No.248

Category

Painting

Era

조선 명종 12년(1557)

Designated year

1989

Location

과천시, 경기도— 경기 과천시 교육원로 86, 국사편찬위원회 (중앙동,국사편찬위원회)

Coordinates

37.424163, 126.979696

This is a map of Korea made in the first half of the Joseon Dynasty. It is 61cm wide and 132cm long. Supposedly the map was made between 1557 and 1558. It was smuggled out into Japan during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592 and was kept in Tsushima Island. It was brought back into Korea in the 1930s. The map consists of three columns. At the very top the title Joseon bangyeok jido is written. In the middle column, there is the map and in the third column the names, status of people associated in the making of the map is written. The locations of “ju” and “hyeon”, the administrative divisions of Joseon, major naval and army bases are marked on the eight “do”. Each “gun” and “hyeon” is marked in a different color for easy recognition. The borderlines between mountains and rivers are drawn in detail. Manchuria and Tsushima Island are included in the territory of Joseon, which shows that the people of the early Joseon Dynasty were conscious of their territorial rights. This is the only original map made under government support that remains from the early Joseon Dynasty. It is all the more significant for it gives valuable information on the development of map production in this period. Also, because this map has a lucid production date, it serves as a material for clarifying the production dates of other maps.

Location