[KS] Map of Seoul; 경조오부도(京兆五部圖) in Hangul at AGS Library, Milwaukee, WI

Sun Jul 7 16:16:00 EDT 2013

Hello All,

This is my response to Frank Hoffman's question that he posed on July 4th,
"Does it mean that commoners were using maps to travel. (I can
hardly imagine that!)"

Presuming that the travelers' maps he is mentioning were either in Hangul
or Hanmun, the answer is, "Yes".

The Korean map collection, all in Hanmun, known as the Harris Collection
contains seven sets of unique Korean style Chonhado maps. Those shown in
the attachment are from Map Set 4, which consists of 10 maps including a
World map, map of China and 8 separate maps for each Korea provinces, plus
front and back covers.

As you can see in the attached, map of Kyonggi is consists of 12 panels,
four top, four center and four bottom panels. The size of each center panel
(5.5 centimeters x 10 centimeters) is exactly two times larger than a top
or bottom panel, therefore the overall size of the map is 22 centimeters
long by 20 centimeters high. When folded, the size of this map is same as
the size of a center panel, smaller than modern day cell phone. Folded, the
map is about 1.5 centimeters thick, ideal for carrying on the traveler's
person or in a carry-all sack (봇짐), regardless of whether the traveler was
a government employee, a yangban or even a commoner.

What makes Map Set 4 so unique is that each map contains all the necessary
information for travelers such as the number of towns, military posts,
number of households, locations of horse corrals, local sights and the
history of that particular province, as you can see in the map of
Kyonggi.

Other Harris maps, such as Map Set 5 are a little larger, 8 centimeters by
15.5 centimeters, equally suitable for traveler though the maps do not have
provincial information. (Map Set 5 has map of  Ryuku and Japan
additionally.)

Attachments: (The Harris family trust, which owns "The Harris Collection"
 allowed me to use of the attachments)

1. Cover of folded map set.
2. Map of Kyonggi including Seoul
3. World map( last three panels are missing.

Thank you,

Yoo Kwang-On

On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 8:25 AM, Frank Hoffmann
<hoffmann at koreanstudies.com>wrote:

> Yoo Kwang-On wrote:
> >
> > Can you kindly post a couple of images of the maps you are talking about?
>
>
> I am lost here, with this request. … The maps I am talking about???
>
> To summarize:
>
> 06/30: Gari Ledyard shares his wonderful article with us, entitled "A
> Unique 18th-Century Korean Map," about a map with placenames given in
> Han'gŭl, a map he names "Gabor map" after is present owner. Professor
> Ledyard does a very interesting analysis of the place names in that
> map, looking at name changes in the later Chosŏn period and also at
> orthographic changes; and he also makes notes on stylistic issues
> (crude way of writing Han'gŭl) and the physical state of the map. From
> his solid analysis of the place name changes and the orthographic
> changes, he comes to the clear conclusion that this is a 18th century
> product--and the physical condition does not indicate any objections to
> that either. That makes it the first all-Han'gŭl map in Korea! It is
> therefore a very essential piece of historical evidence.
>
> Now, because of this, we have to tread this as a "collector's item"
> with cultural-historical and historical importance, just like an
> important work of "art"--not just as a map like a geographer would look
> at a map. From that point of view, what Professor Ledyard "left out" in
> his analysis, and I think that was smart and makes sense from his
> expertise in history and linguistics, that is: (a) ownership history
> (who owned the map since it was produced, how did it end up at an
> auction in Europe, and which auction?) And (b) a physical and chemical
> examination of the map … for paper and ink, though, are almost
> impossible to date if they are older than the 1910s. And the "age of
> its paper, based on its coloration" (footnote 10) is really not at all
> acceptable, and I am not sure why the consulted expert,  Prof. Lee
> Seung-chul, would have said so. The coloration of any paper, both
> Western papers and hanji, varies *widely* depending on the archival
> conditions over the centuries. The same is true for ink. In addition to
> the superb analysis given by Professor Ledyard these would be essential
> pieces of evidence when trying look into the issue if such a map is
> original or a forgery. (This should please not be misconstrued as
> criticism. I am just pointing to the second part of an analysis
> necessary to evaluate what we have there, an analysis that should be
> done.)
>
> 06/30: I pointed out that the OTHER map Professor Ledyard referred to,
> a later map that he said seems to have been known as the first one with
> place names in Han'gŭl, actually had no Han'gŭl names but rendered the
> Korean prounciation of place names in Roman letters.
>
> 07/02: Henny Savenije also pointed to two images of that and a related
> map on his website.
>        I noted the book publication and an article by Professor
> Jin-Mieung Li from France, who had discussed at the mentioned
> Roman-letter map by Kim Tae-gŏn and then other early Han'gŭl-only maps,
> all at the Département des Cartes et Plans, Bibliothè que Nationale
> de France. Again, these are maps from 1945 and after -- NOT from the
> 18th century like the Gabor map. And I tried to make clear in this
> posting already that there there are various other such maps in Hang'ŭl
> from that mid- and later 19th century.
> 07/02: Now Yoo Kwang-On says "here is another one" and points to a map
> from 1883-1887, from time of the "opening" of Korea, where the U.S.,
> Germany, France, Russia, etc. do establish embassies in Korea, etc.
> Yes sure, that is no surprise, and naturallt there are quite a number
> of these from the late 19th century--but *not* from the 18th century.
>
>
> What I think are the most essential questions:
>
> 1. Is the map an original from the 18th century, or is it a late 19th
> century copy where Hanja has been substituted by Han'gŭl, or is it even
> a forgery? I am not suggesting either one here; these are just the
> usual questions and issues that have to be resolved when buying a used
> car: one needs to check under the hood. Above mentioned ownership
> history and physical examination and possibly chemical analysis would
> be needed.
>
> 2. Given the Gabor map is original, then how does that change our
> knowledge and perception of the use of Han'gŭl in the 18th century?
> Does it mean that commoners were using maps to travel. (I can hardly
> imagine that!)
>
>
> Best,
> Frank Hoffmann
>
>
> --------------------------------------
> Frank Hoffmann
> http://koreanstudies.com
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20130707/d13d42c5/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_1849.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 714223 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20130707/d13d42c5/attachment.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_1852.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1210734 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20130707/d13d42c5/attachment-0001.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 100_1850.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1216977 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20130707/d13d42c5/attachment-0002.jpe>