Beginning 9월 22일, the Northeast Asian History Foundation will present the late Joseon-era map “Ulleungdo Map” at the Dokdo Experience Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
This map has been suggested as possibly having been made earlier than the 1711 “Ulleungdo Map Outline,” known to date as the earliest extant inspection map of Ulleungdo.
The place names and phrases preserved on a single map offer clues to how Joseon understood Ulleungdo as a space.
3-Line Summary
1. The Ulleungdo Map is thought to be the earliest inspection map.
2. Its production date is estimated to be between 1694 and 1710.
3. Estimated dates must be distinguished from confirmed dates.
The Foundation’s Estimate That the Map Predates 1711
“Ulleungdo Map (鬱陵島圖)” is a late Joseon-era map held by the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation. The Northeast Asian History Foundation estimated that the map was produced earlier than the “Ulleungdo Map Outline,” made in 1711 by Park Seok-chang, the Samcheok magistrate commander. Previously, the “Ulleungdo Map Outline” was known as the oldest surviving inspection map of Ulleungdo.
Inspection maps were documentary maps created as Joseon dispatched inspection officials to manage Ulleungdo. The Foundation explained that much of the geographic information in the Ulleungdo Map corresponds with the records of Jang Han-sang, the Samcheok magistrate commander who carried out an inspection mission to Ulleungdo in 1694. On this basis, its production date is placed between 1694 and 1710.
However, this dating is not the result of a confirmed production year written on the map, but an estimate based on the records, modes of expression, and other factors considered together. Thus, the significance of this map lies less in “exactly what year it was produced” than in showing how information obtained during the early inspection process was preserved on a map.
Ulleungdo Drawn Alongside Five East Coast Towns
The Ulleungdo Map labels not only Ulleungdo but also five East Coast regions: Yangyang, Gangneung, Samcheok, Uljin, and Pyeonghae. The phrase “Jayeongdongmanggyeonsambong (自嶺東望見三峯)” also remains at the center of the map. It is interpreted as meaning that the three peaks can be seen when viewed from Yeongdong.
The Foundation explained this expression as evidence that Ulleungdo was understood within a spatial relationship with Korea’s East Coast. Rather than depicting Ulleungdo as an isolated island, the map places it together with place names on the mainland. The map was not merely a tool for recording coastlines and mountain contours; it was also a record preserving the administrative and territorial perceptions of the time.
The Ulleungdo Map records the island’s outline, directions, and geographic information with Ulleungdo at the center. The mountain contours are said to have been depicted using landscape-painting techniques, while the waves were expressed with blue washes and curves. The fact that the map combines documentary qualities with pictorial expression is another point to examine in the exhibition.
At the Seoul Dokdo Experience Center Through 11월 29일
The special exhibition “One Map, Two Perspectives” will be held from 9월 22일 through 11월 29일 in the Special Exhibition Room of the Dokdo Experience Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Alongside the Ulleungdo Map, related materials including maps of Joseon’s entire territory, inspection maps, and Western antique maps will be introduced.
The most important point to note in this exhibition is not to accept the expression “oldest (最古)” as a definitive statement, but to recognize that the Foundation has proposed an earlier date based on such evidence as the correspondence with Jang Han-sang’s records. It is more accurate to view the Ulleungdo Map as material that allows viewers to directly examine how Joseon’s records of managing Ulleungdo were preserved on a map.
References
Tags #UlleungdoMap #UlleungdoMap #JoseonMap #AntiqueMap #InspectionMap #NortheastAsianHistoryFoundation #DokdoExperienceCenter #OneMapTwoPerspectives #KansongArtAndCultureFoundation #JangHan-sang #ParkSeok-chang #UlleungdoMapOutline