Scientific Survey and Record of the Waters of Joseon

La Pérouse’s expedition was shipwrecked, and Russian interpretor D. Lesseps, the only survivor of the expedition, published the accumulated logs, which were widely spread around the world. For the first time as a westerner, La Pérouse explored the eastern and southern seas of Korea, as well as the Sea of Okhotsk, and subsequently created a nautical chart. After measuring Ulleungdo, he named it ‘D’agelet Island’ (I’ÎLE de Dagelet), taking its name from an astronomer on the expedition named Joseph Lepaute Dagelet.

This is a map created by Jean-François La Pérouse in 1785 while exploring the coast of the Korean peninsula. The ‘No. 39’ on this nautical chart indicates that Dagelet, or in other words, Ulleungdo, is located at 37 degrees 30 minutes north latitude and 129 degrees east longitude from Paris. La Pérouse named Ulleungdo as ‘D’agelet Island’(I’ÎLE de Dagelet), taking its name from the astronomer Joseph Lepaute Dagelet, who was the first to find Ulleungdo during the expedition. From then until the 1950s, a period of about 150 years, Ulleungdo was marked as D’agelet Island(I’ÎLE de Dagelet) on Western maps.

The sea route from Jeju Island(Quelpaert) to Korea's southern coast is shown on this map

This is a map of five islands explored from May 3 to May 27, 1787, and Ulleungdo and the coastal villages of Jeju Island are depicted.

La partie de L’île de Quelpaert : The part of Jeju Island
L’île Hoapinsu : Senkaku Island or Diaoyudao Island
L’île Dagelet : Ulleungdo Island
L’île de Botol : Island close to the Philippines
L’île de Kumi : Island near Taiwan

In 1787, La Pérouse made this map of the northeastern section of Asia, including China, Joseon, and Japan. Starting from Luzon Island in the Philippines, the sea route is shown, passing through Korea, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Hokkaido, and eventually Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

When the ship H.M.S. Providence was wrecked near the Ryukyu Islands, the captain, William Robert Broughton, continued exploring the east coast with an auxiliary line schooner he had purchased at Macao.  He arrived at Yongdangpo, Busan, in October 1797 and sojourned for a week, which is also recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. This description of the voyage is a French translation version(1807) of the first edition, which was published in London, England, in 1804.

On this voyage, it shows that he visited Chinese Tartary region, Shandong, and investigated the coast of Joseon. 

An illustration of the people and lifestyle of Joseon and the Ryukyu Islands is also included.

Basil Hall visited the Qing Dynasty in China with Captain Murray Maxwell to deliver the British Embassy of Lord Amherst to China. 

While the British Embassy was carrying out its mission, Basil Hall and Captain Murray Maxwell explored the west coast of Korea and Ryukyu(Okinawa) in Japan. 

While exploring the west coast of Korea, they had a dialog with Jo Dae-bok who was the head of the Marynagjin coastal guard, and a local officer, Lee Seung-ryul, along with collecting several local Joseon products. 

From September 1, 1816, they surveyed the Five West Sea Islands Area of Korea, and on September 10, they passed off the Coast of Jeju Island and left Joseon. 

Rare and valuable episodes between Joseon people and the strangers occurred in abundance on their voyage, and their visits are recorded in The Annals of King Sunjo, Ilseongnok(Daily Records of the Royal Court and Important Officials), and Seungjeongwon ilgi(Diaries of the Royal Secretariat).

The Ship Lord Amherst was dispatched to China by the British East India Company in 1832 to explore the possibility of expanding trade. Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, a German who spoke Chinese fluently, boarded this ship as an interpreter and became the first Protestant missionary to arrive in Joseon. He completed this book as a report to be submitted to the East India Company after finishing the expedition. 

This book contains a map including Korea, and contents related to what he saw and heard on Godaedo Island in Hongju(currently Boryeong), Chungcheong-do on July 25, 1382. 

The records related to this British commercial ship are put in The Annals of King Sunjo and Seungjeongwon ilgi(Diaries of the Royal Secretariat).

British sea captain Edward Belcher left nautical charts and a voyage narrative after surveying the sea routes of China and neighboring countries from 1843 to 1846, with the ship Samarang. In June 1845, he arrived on Udo Island, located on the eastern part of Jeju Island, to use the island as a base of operations for about 40 days.

Edward Belcher investigated Geomundo and Jeju Island during this time and named Geomundo ‘Port Hamilton’.

Donggukyeojido, an atlas made with wooden plate printing methods, consists of the following maps: Jeondo(Complete map/全圖), Dobyeoldo, Cheonhado, China map, Ryukyu map, and Japan map. Cheonhado is a round world map showing a China-centered world view. The map is portrayed in a circular shape. Moving from the center to the outward parts, there is a central continent, an inland sea(內海), an outer continent, and the open sea(外海) in that order. Centered on China, the countries bordering on Western China are represented on the west, Joseon is represented on the east, and an imaginary country and various geographical names from the Chinese book, The Classic of Mountains and Seas, are recorded on the map.

The Daedongyeojijeondo(Map of Korea) is a single-sheet miniature version of the Daedongyeojido(大東輿地圖/The Great Map of the East Land), made by Go San-ja Kim Jung-ho(金正浩, 1804-1866). The map depicts natural geographic information such as mountains and streams, as well as human-related geographic information such as counties, military facilities, roads, and farms. Unlike the Daedongyeojido, on this map, all streams are marked in double lines, and wave patterns are depicted. In addition, the preface of the map is inscribed on the East Sea's margin. The preface, consisting of four sections, describes the origin and meaning of the country’s name, Joseon(朝鮮), as well as the lie of the mountain range extending from Mt. Baekdu to Hanyang, the overall distance(道里) of Joseon, and the appearance of Hanyang, the capital city.