Early Chosun Maps of Ulleungdo

The historical facts of the Dokdo - Takeshima Island dispute

The following page was created to analyse maps of Ulleungdo created by Chosun cartographers through the ages. Some Japanese assert these maps are proof that Usando Island was actually Jukdo Islet located about 2kms on the northeast shore of Ulleungdo. It must be made clear that the few historical documents that detail what Usando really is, state otherwise. Documents from both Korean and Japanese sources cleary state "Usando is what Japanese call Matsushima (Dokdo)....." (see documents here) When viewing old Chosun maps a few things become immediately apparent.  First, Chosun maps are quite crude when compared to their Japanese counterparts of the day. Chosun maps didn't employ lines of longitude and latitude until almost the year 1900. Korean maps do not accurately locate the position of territories, most notably islands.  It was common practice for Chosun cartographers and early Japanese map makers to simply slide land masses such as islands closer to the territories to which they belonged. As mentioned before on this website, Chosun maps are not accurate, to-scale, visual representations of territory. This can be illustrated by some of the map images below.

Cases in point:  Early Chosun cartographers often drew islands closer to the Korean mainland than ther were located. Despite the fact Ulluengdo is around 130kms from Korea, these maps would lead us to believe you could jump there from Kangwando Province.

A modern map of Ulleungdo shows all major rock formations on Ulleungdo's North and Northeast shores.

The image above is a highly detailed map of Ulleungdo Islands showing all of her surrounding rock formations. The location of these features was described in detail in the late 1800's when the British Navy surveyed the region the report read as follows. "Matsushima or Dagelet Island is a collection of sharp conical hills, well clothed with wood, supporting an imposing peak in the center...... There are several rocks along it's shores, principally on the North and East sides, some reaching an elevation of 400 to 500 feet...." Hydrographic Office of the UK 1864.

These maps of Ulleungdo spanning 150 years all show the same errors proving they were copied through the ages with of their flaws. When we reference historical records  and accurate maps it's apparent Ulleungdo's  islands were positioned on the wrong side. In addition, the scale of the map shows Ulleungdo to be almost 4 times too large.

The location of islands on early Chosun maps and the method in which Korean cartographers almost arbitrarily placed islands is what makes early Korean maps of Ulleungdo both problematic and open to many different interpretations. However, some things are very clear on these maps that raise doubts over whether or not they should be construed as proof of Usando's identity. When we compare these maps of Ulleungdo we immediately see that the postion of her nieghbouring islands such as  Gwanuemdo Island, Tan Rock, and Three Angel's Rock are all on the South side rather than on the North. What's more puzzling is the scale given on the maps. These maps show Ulleungdo to be around 90 ri across (36kms) In reality, Ulleungdo is about 10kms wide. Given these glaring errors, Usando's position close to Jukdo Islet's location can't be blindly interpreted as being Jukdo Islet.  Furthermore, successive editions of these maps carry the same inherent flaws of their predecessors proving these charts were copied "warts and all" by Chosun cartographers through the ages which was often the case in earlier times. Thus, these maps are essentially one map. The first Japanese map of the East Sea showing lines of longitude and latitude was dated around the late 1700s and Korea's first map to use Western cartography techniques came over a century later. As the top images show, Chosun maps were not true to scale or distance especially when including islands deemed under the jurisdiction of another territory. Having said that, we cannot be sure Chosun cartographers didn't simply relocate Usando closer to Ulleungdo to include it on the same map as Usando was always considered part of Usanguk or attached to Ulleungdo. Of course it wound be impossible to draw a map of Ulleungdo using any degree of detail and include Dokdo without scaling down the distance between them or appending a map of Dokdo on the side as is the case on the modern map of Ulleungdo above. However, we must remember early map makers did not employ such advanced cartograhpy techniques (such as inset or appended maps) as we will see in the Japanese map below.

The two images above illustrate the fact that early charts often positioned islands in a manner to indicate ownership. Both Ulleungdo and Usando are located almost touching the Korean peninsula. More importantly, the Japanese mapmaker didn't include any other islands in the East Sea leading us to believe that Ulleungdo and Usando were the Japanese equivalent of Takeshima and Matsushima.  Here is it also apparent that the Oki Islands (boxed in red in the left map) are the northwest boundary of Japan. The map is dated from the very early 1800s and thus was not affected by Seibold's maps which were drawn around 1840. (click images to enlarge)

On the right is another map of Ulleungdo. This image shows Usando on the West side of Ulleungdo. It is not possible Usando is Jukdo Islet for a couple of reasons on this chart. The Japanese characters South of Usando explains there is mooring for boats on this island. Jukdo Islet is surrounded by 100 meter sheer cliffs and is very dangerous. Second obviously Jukdo is located on the opposite side of Ulleungdo.

The mapping errors of Ulleungdo would continue to affect Chosun and Japanese maps for more than a century. In 1899 The Daehan Jiji, (Korea's first attempt of Western cartography techniques) showed some of the inherent mapping errors of the day. First it is apparent Ulleungdo Island's size is lacking proper scale as the island is more than double its real size. Next Ulleungdo is far too West as we can see the islands shore touches the 130 degree  line of longitude. Finally it is apparent the mapmaker referenced earlier maps of Ulleungdo and included islands on the South shore that simply do not exist.

Other Historical Maps Of Ulleungdo Island A Comparitive Study

The map of Ulleungdo to the left was drawn by Korean Inspector Lee Gyuwon during his on site inspection of the island in 1882. Note how this map differs greatly from the maps above. Although it doesn't follow modern cartography format it is quite accurate and shows all major rocks formations and islands surrounding Ulleungdo. It also gives locational reference and correctly shows these prominent features on the North and Northeast sides of Ulleungdo. Below is a map drawn by the British Navy showing Matsushima Island (Ulleungdo). On this map Jukdo Islet is labelled as Boussole Rock. Again other major rocks are drawn on the North side of Ulleungdo. Here, Seal Point is incorrectly drawn as an island when in reality it is a cape, extending to the South.

The map on the left was drawn by Chosun Inspector  Lee Gyuwon after his survey of Ullengdo. The map on the right is a British Navy map. Both maps correctly show major rocks and islands on Ulleungdo's North and Northeast sides. (click images to view larger)

In 1870, the map above was included on a report of Takeshima (Ulleungdo Island) This map is drawn off-kilter and runs diagonally. The North side is in the upper right side of the map and the South in the lower left. Despite this, again we see major islands and rocks located on the North and east sides.