Daedong Jiji

《Daedong Jiji》(大東地志) is a geographical treatise compiled by Kim Jeong-ho in the late Joseon period. It consists of 30 volumes in 15 books, and among these, part of the Pyeongan-do section and the Sansugo and Byeonbang sections are missing. The Daedong Jiji currently held by the Korea University Library is Kim Jeong-ho's autograph manuscript. However, the Pyeongan-do section of the Daedong Jiji is not in Kim's own handwriting and was copied out and attached later by someone else.¹

Compilation period

The Daedong Jiji is believed to have been compiled from 1862 (the 13th year of King Cheoljong) to 1866 (the 3rd year of King Gojong).

The compilation period of the Daedong Jiji had previously been mistakenly recorded as 1864 (the 1st year of King Gojong). This judgment was based on a passage on the first page of the Daedong Jiji stating, "From the first year of the gapja year of the founder of Silla to the gyehae year of the 14th year of our reigning King Cheoljong, the total is 1,920 years, corresponding to 32 gapja cycles,"² and on the passage "Juサン jeonha won-nyeon gapja" (主上殿下元年甲子), which appears after the entry on King Cheoljong in the national chronology section (國朝紀年) of Volume 1, Gyeongdo.

However, according to recent research, a claim has been raised that compilation continued from 1862 (the 13th year of King Cheoljong) until Kim Jeong-ho's death in 1866 (the 3rd year of King Gojong). On the line following the above "Juサン jeonha won-nyeon gapja," there is an entry stating, "The Queen Consort, Her Majesty, is of the Min clan, her family seat is Yeoju, and she is the daughter of Buwongun Min Chi-rok,"³ and her selection as queen took place on March 6, 1866 (the 3rd year of King Gojong). This indicates that the Daedong Jiji was still being compiled up to that time. In addition, Volume 5 of the Daedong Jiji records that the name of the Chungcheong-do province was changed to Gongchung-do due to the rebel Kim Sun-seong, which occurred in 1862 (the 13th year of King Cheoljong), and this year is taken as the earliest possible date.

Compilation structure

The Daedong Jiji is a geographical treatise based on the Dongyeodoji and supplemented with reference to the Yeodobiji. In the Dongyeodoji, the historical records of prefectures and counties across successive dynasties are compiled as a separate volume at the beginning, but in the this material is arranged at the very end under the section title "Bangyeo Chongji" (方輿總志). The general outlines of the three geographical treatises, including the arrangement and names of the prefectures and counties across the country, are nearly identical.