In Search of the Origin of Ch’ŏnhado, a Traditional Korean Map of the World

Abstract

Ch’ŏnhado is a unique traditional Korean world map which reflects the Korean geomentality of the world. Some researchers postulated that this map was developed after the introduction of European maps of the world to Korea and concluded that Korean world maps were therefore influenced by these European maps. However, this research has found that ch’ŏnhado was independently developed by Koreans and does not reflect any influences from European maps of the world. Ch’ŏnhado is a folk-geographic map reflecting Koreans’ understanding of the world during the premodern period.