The National Museum of Korea announced it will display all 22 panels of Kim Jeong-ho's "Daedongyeojido" (Map of the Great East) on the wall of the "Path of History" in the first-floor lobby of its permanent exhibition hall starting December 12. The map will be freely accessible to all museum visitors.
The Daedongyeojido is a foldable atlas that divides the Korean Peninsula into 22 horizontal sections from north to south, with each section bound as a separate volume. When all 22 volumes are connected, they form a massive nationwide map measuring approximately 6.7 meters in height and 3.8 meters in width. The museum printed high-resolution data from its collection onto traditional Korean hanji paper, allowing visitors to appreciate the map's grand scale and intricate details at a single glance. The exhibition is expected to offer a vivid experience of how late Joseon-era people understood the size and structure of their territory.
The Daedongyeojido, created by Kim Jeong-ho (1804-1866), is considered the definitive masterpiece of Joseon cartography, consolidating centuries of Korean mapmaking research. The map enables viewers to grasp the geographical framework of the land through precisely detailed mountain ranges and waterways. Roads are marked with dots at every 10 ri (approximately 4 kilometers) intervals to help users estimate actual distances.
The map also incorporates diverse information about contemporary society through symbols, including administrative, military, economic, and transportation data. A notable feature is its separate legend system—equivalent to modern map keys—designed to help users quickly comprehend the extensive geographical information.
Korea's distinguished cartographic tradition dates back to the "Honil Gangni Yeokdae Gukdo Jido" (Map of Integrated Lands and Regions of Historical Countries) produced in 1402 during King Taejong's reign. Later works including Jeong Sang-gi's "Dongguk Daejido" (Great Map of the Eastern Country), which introduced the baekricheok scale system during King Yeongjo's reign, and Sin Gyeong-jun's "Dongguk Yeojido" (Map of the Eastern Country) laid the foundation for the Daedongyeojido.
Before creating the Daedongyeojido, Kim Jeong-ho compiled manuscript maps such as "Cheongudo" and "Dongyeodo," along with geographical texts including "Daedongjiji." Building upon this cartographic heritage, he completed the Daedongyeojido in 1861. The map's distinctive feature is its woodblock printing method, which enabled wider distribution and portable use.
"This exhibition offers a precious opportunity to encounter the Daedongyeojido in its complete monumental form, rather than just as a bound book, allowing visitors to directly experience Kim Jeong-ho's great achievement and the beauty of our national territory," said Yoo Hong-jun, director of the National Museum of Korea. "I hope visitors will feel pride in the excellence of our traditional cartography through the Daedongyeojido, which embodies the essence of Joseon-era science and art."