Agricultural illustrations of 19th century Korea: 'Imwon gyeongjeji' (Treatises on Management of Forest and Garden) by Seo Yugu.

The generative relationship between text and image has long been established. Its structure evolved historically as a result of varying understandings of the functions of art and technology. Agriculture illustration, which emerged in China during the Song dynasty, is a prime example of this creative dialogue in which aspects of both disciplines were combined. Political, technological, and aesthetic concerns informed the reformulations of this new genre. This paper will address agricultural illustrations on nineteenth-century Korea, when notable changes occurred in the visualization of agricultural texts. It will explore changes in the understanding of the roles of agriculture, technology, and labor through an analysis of shifts in modes of illustration and the texts selected. The relationship between technology and visual representations during late Joseon Korea will be contextualized through an exploration of the evolution of technical drawing in East Asia. This paper will suggest that the recognition of imagery's ability to convey textual and technical information provided an important alternative paradigm for the presentation and use of knowledge.