• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.367-380
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• 2017

The life and astronomical activity of Lee Deok-Seong (李德星, 1720-1794) was studied using various historical sources, including the astronomical almanac, Seungjeongwon-Ilgi (Daily records of Royal Secretariat of Joseon dynasty), and the Gwansang-Gam's logbooks during Joseon dynasty (A.D. 1392-1910). We present the results of the study including the following main findings. First, from the investigation of Lee's family tree, we find that a number of his relatives were also astronomers, notably Samryeok-Gwan (三曆官, the post of calendrical calculation). Second, we find that he took part in the compilation of an annual astronomical almanac over a period of at least 16 years. His major achievements in the astronomy of the Joseon dynasty were to establish a new method of calendar-making calculation and to bring astronomical materials to the Joseon court through a visit to China. The Joseon dynasty enforced the Shixianli (時憲曆, a Chinese calendar made by Adam Shall) in 1654 without fully understanding the calendar. So an astronomer and an envoy were dispatched to China in order to master the intricacies of the calendar and to learn as much of Western science as was available in that time and place. Lee Deok-Seong worked at the Gwansang-Gam (觀象監, Royal Astronomical Bureau) during the reigns of King Yeongjo (英祖) and Jeongjo (正祖). As best as we can ascertain in relation with the calculations in the Shixian calendar, Lee visited China four times. During his trips and interactions, he learned a new method for calendar-making calculations, and introduced many Western-Chinese astronomical books to Joseon academia. Lee greatly improved the accuracy of calendrical calculations, even while simplifying the calculation process. With these achievements, he finally was promoted to the title of Sungrok-Daebu (崇祿大夫), the third highest grade of royal official. In conclusion, history demonstrates that Lee Deok-Seong was one of the most outstanding astronomers in the late-Joseon dynasty.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.72.1-72.1
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• 2014

In the Joseon Dynasty, A day divided into 100 gak (刻, approximately a quarter) or 12 Sijin (時辰, double hours) that was composed of half-Sijin as Cho (初, beginnings of double hours) and Jeong (正, mid-points double hours). The timekeeping system was changed from 100 gak to 96 gak with using $sh{\acute{i}}xi{\grave{a}}n$ calendar (時憲曆) in 1654. And then 12 Sijin was changed to the 24-hours system in the same manner as current with the enforcement of the solar calendar (太陽曆) in 1896. We examine the record of the timekeeping system and notation of hours from the astronomical almanacs and official gazettes during 50 years after 1896. The Korean Empire Government first adopted the standard meridian of the Gyeongseong (former name of the Seoul in Korea) in 1908. However the mean solar time was applied to the almanac since 1913. After 1896, the year of enforcement of the solar calendar, the expression of times on a Korean almanac was written with O-jeon (午前, morning) and O-hu (午後, afternoon). The definition of 1day 24-hours system was first stated by the legislation in 1900. The expression of times was used 24 hours without O-jeon and O-hu in 1916. In daily life, the 24-hours system has used in parallel with 12-hours system divided into morning and afternoon even today.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2014

Sambok (三伏, Three Hottest Days) is the common designation of Chobok (初伏, Early Hot Day), Jungbok (中伏, Middle Hot Day), and Malbok (末伏, Late Hot Day), and widely known to be one of the Korean folk customs. Hence, Sambok is notated in Manseryeok (Ten Thousand-Year Almanac) and in the annual astronomical almanac published by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. In this paper, we investigate the changes of Sambok in Korea based on various documents such as Joseonwangjosilok (朝鮮王朝實錄, Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Jeungbo-Jakryeoksik (增補作曆式, The Supplement of Manual for Calendar Making), astronomical almanacs, and so forth. According to Jeungbo-Jakryeoksik preserved in Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Chobok and Jungbok are defined as the third and fourth Gyeongil (庚日, The Day Starting with the Seventh Heavenly Stems in Sexagenary Cycles Assigned to Each Day) after the summer solstice, respectively, and Malbok is the first Gyeongil after Ipchu (Enthronement of Autumn). However, if the summer solstice is Gyeongil, then the third Gyeongil counting from the solstice becomes Chobok. Malbok depends on the time of Ipchu. Ipchu itself becomes Malbok if the time of Ipchu is in the morning, or next Gyeongil becomes Malbok if it is the afternoon. On the other hand, Malbok is defined as Ipchu itself regardless of its time according to Chiljeongbobeob (七政步法, Calculating Method for Sun, Moon, and Five Planets), Chubocheobryeo (推步捷例, Quick Examples for Calendrical Calculations), and so on. To verify the methods used to determine Sambok, we examined the record in the extant almanacs during the period of 1392 to 2100 for which the summer solstice or Ipchu is Gyeongil. As a result, we found a periodicity that if the time of Ipchu is in the morning, in general, the time is in the afternoon after two years and then is back into in the morning after nineteen years, i.e., the 2 + 19 years periodicity. However, we found the 2 + 17 years periodicity in some years. We also found that the Chobok method of Jeungbo-Jakryeoksik has been used since 1712, the thirty-eighth reign of King Sukjong (肅宗). In addition, we supposed that Malbok had been determined by the method like Chubocheobryeo since either 1846, the twelfth reign of King Heonjong (憲宗), or 1867, the fourth reign of King Gojong (高宗). At present, these methods of Sambok are customarily used without any legal basis. We, therefore, think that this study will help conventionalize the method defining Sambok in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.85-91
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• 2012

Astronomical data making such as forming a calendar, period of day, determining the time of rising/setting of the sun and the onset of twilight are essential in our daily lives. Knowing the calendar day of the past is particularly crucial for studying the history of a clan or a nation. To verify previous studies in the calendar day of the Joseon dynasty (1392 - 1910), we investigate the sexagenary cycle of the new moon day (i.e., the first day in a lunar month) by using sources such as results of the calculations using the Datong calendar (a Chinese Calendar of the Ming Dynasty) and the data of Baekjungryeok (a Perpetual Calendar; literally, a one hundred-year almanac). Compared with the study of Ahn et al., we find that as many as 17 sexagenary cycles show discrepancies. In the cases of nine discrepancies, we find that the sexagenary cycles of this study are identical to those of the almanacs at that time. In addition, we study five sexagenary cycles by using the historical accounts of Joseon Wangjo Sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Daily Reports of Royal Secretariat), Chungung Ilgi (Logs of Crown Prince), and so forth. For the remaining discrepancies, we present historical literature supporting the results of this study. This study will greatly contribute to the identification of the lunisolar calendar days during the Joseon dynasty as the dates of the modern (i.e., Gregorian) calendar.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.138.2-138.2
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• 2011

Astronomical data such as calendar day and time of rising/setting of the sun and onset of twilight are essential in our daily lives. Knowing the calendar day of the past is particularly crucial for studying the history of a clan or a nation. To verify previous studies on the calendar day of the Joseon dynasty (1392 - 1910), we also investigated the sexagenary cycle of the new moon day (i.e., the first day in a lunar month) using different sources: results of the calculation by the Datong calendar (a Chinese Calendar of the Ming Dynasty) and data of Baekjungryeok (a Perpetual Calendar - literally, a one hundred-year almanac). Compared with the study of Ahn et al., we have found that as many as 17 sexagenary cycles show discrepancies. In the case of nine discrepancies, we found that the sexagenary cycles of this study are identical to those of the almanacs at that time. In addition, we study six sexagenary cycles by using the historical accounts of Joseon Wangjo Sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Seungjeongwon Ilgi (Daily Records of Royal Secretariat), Chungung Ilgi (Logs of Crown Prince), and so forth. We present historical materials supporting the results of this study for the remainder. In conclusion, we think that this study will greatly contribute to the comparison between luni-solar calendar days during the Joseon dynasty and those in the modern (i.e., Gregorian) calendar.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.130.2-130.2
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• 2011

지상의 관측소에서 특정 인공위성을 찾아내기 위해서는 위성의 정밀궤도 계산이 필요하다. 궤도상의 인공위성의 위치는 시간에 따라 계속 변하므로 이러한 위성의 위치를 실시간으로 추적하기 위해서는 컴퓨터를 이용한 계산이 필수적이다. 정밀한 계산 결과를 얻기 위하여 태양과 지상 관측소의 위치는 Astronomical Almanac과 지구 타원체 모델을 이용하여 계산 하였다. 인공위성의 궤도는 미공군 북미방공사령부(NORAD)에서 발표하는 TLE를 초기값으로 이용하여 J2 섭동효과를 포함한 위성의 위치 및 속도의 변화를 계산하여 SkyView로 나타내었다. 이렇게 나타낸 SkyView의 결과를 실제 위성의 궤적과 비교하여 위성의 궤도를 검증하였으며, 시간에 따른 위성의 광도 곡선 변화 계산 루틴을 작성하여 실제 위성을 찾아내기 위한 기초자료로 활용이 가능하도록 하였다. 모든 계산을 위한 프로그램을 Visual Studio.net 2010 환경에서 C++ 언어를 이용하여 작성하였으며, 결과를 나타내기 위하여 Nokia 사의 Cross Platform 라이브러리인 Qt를 이용하여 UI 제작 및 Visualization을 수행하였다. Qt 라이브러리는 C++ 언어를 기반으로 작성된 플랫폼 독립적인 GUI 라이브러리로써 MS Windows, Linux, MacOS 환경에서 사용이 가능하다. 이를 통해 운영체제에 관계없이 모든 컴퓨터 환경에서 동일한 유저 인터페이스를 이용하여 계산을 할 수 있다. 본 연구는 향후 우주물체탐색에 있어 독자적인 운영을 위한 프로그램으로 활용할 예정이다.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.25-36
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• 2013

Chumsungdae is an ancient astronomical observatory whose main role was doing 'chunmoon'. It was administrate by a royal advisory agency on state affairs. The observers observed the heaven on the observatory platform, recorded peculiar events, and watched and interpreted the signs displayed in the heaven. Chumsungdae is an stonemasonry which represents almanac principles with its peculiar shapes and the numbers of strata and stones. The numbers were thoroughly invented to match exactly the almanac constants. Chumsungdae is comprised largely of three main parts, namely the square base, the stratified cylindrical body, and the top #-shaped stonework, and the total number of stones is 404. The number of the strata (27) and the height of the cylindrical body (27 尺) stand for the days in a sidereal month (27.3 days), which implies that the motion of the Moon with respect to the stars was given more priority than to the Sun at that time of geocentricism. And the cylindrical body was thoroughly designed to consist of 365 stones, which is of course the number of days in a solar year. In addition, there are 12 strata each under and above the south entrance and this in sum makes the 24 divisions of the year. Also there is 182 stones below the 13th stratum and this represents the number of days in the winter ~ summer solstice period, and the rest 183 stones the vice versa. The #-shaped top stonework was aligned in such a way that one of the diagonals points the direction of sunrise on the winter solstice. The square base also layed with the same manner. The south entrance was built 16 degrees SE, and the upright direction of the right pillar stone coincides with the meridian circle. This was a kind of built-in standard meridian circle facilitating the observations. In a symbolic sense, Chumsungdae was thought as the tunnel reaching the heaven, where the observers wished to be enlightened with the signs and inspirations in need. With the craftsmanship and skill, the builder reinforced the stratified cylindrical body with two sets of #-shaped beam stones, piercing at a right angle at 19th ~ 20th and 25th ~ 26th strata. Likewise, by placing the double #-shaped stonework with 8 beam stones on the platform of the observatory, both the stability of the stonemasonry and a guard rail for the nightly observers were securely provided.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.49-65
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• 2019

We investigate the provenance and the changes in the timekeeping system focusing on official records such as almanacs and textbooks published by the government after the solar calendar was introduced. We found that the solar calendar and the 12-hour clock time first appeared in 1884 during Joseon dynasty, at that time the solar calendar was used at the open port in Busan to facilitate the exchanges with Japan. The 12-hour clock time first appeared in the 『Hansung Sunbo』 published by the government in 1884. We also found that the Joseon dynasty also used 12 diǎnzhōng or 12 diǎn. In addition, the term of the 'Sigan' first appeared in the first official academic textbook in August 1895, and the chapter related to time contained the information about 12-hour clock time instead of the 12 Shi. In 1908, the meaning of the solar time, the equation of time, and the differences in longitude with the adoption of Korean Standard Time were introduced. Meanwhile, the 24-hour clock time was first introduced in Joseon and applied to railway times in 1907. The 1946 almanac, the first issue after liberation, used the 12-hour clock time which uses 'Sango', 'Hao' and the 24-hour clock time started to be used from the following year and is still used to this day. Finally, the 12-hour clock time, which was introduced around 1884, was enacted as Article 44 of the law in 1900 and was revised again in 1905 and 1908. In Korea, the terms related to the time in the current astronomical calendar system were newly defined around 1884, 1896, and 1908, and gradually standardized through the establishment of laws.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2019

"Hon-Chon-Jeon-Do" is a woodcut star map with the size of $79.4cm{\times}127.5cm$, and was widely disseminated as it was made into a set with Kim, Jung Ho's "Yeoji-Jeon-Do". This study confirmed that Yixiang kaocheng xubian ("의상고성속편") star catalogue was used as a source to produce the star map, and the stereographic projection was applied with the projection center being the mid-point (Q) between the celestial and ecliptic north poles. The 'mid-circle' around the Q is arisen between the equator and the ecliptic, and on this circle, the hour angle and the ecliptic longitude of a star can be marked using the same scale. This means that the hour of the day and the season of the year can be read on the same dial of the mid-circle, and the application of this character in the practical use was the key point of the star map production. By observing either transits or positions of the 28 xiu (宿), it is easy to find the corresponding season and time by simply reading the dial on the mid-circle. This is just the function of a portable almanac and thus by disseminating it widely, the convenience of the people would have been promoted. For this reason, it can be stated that "Hon-Chon-Jeon-Do" was a practical astronomical tool which was produced by the western astronomical projection method and was used to find time and season. Choi, Han Ki and Kim, Jung Ho are strong candidates for the makers of this star map. The time of production is estimated to be 1848 ~ 1857, and "Hon-Chon-Jeon-Do" could be regarded as a good contributor to popularization of astronomy in the late Joseon Dynasty.

• Journal of Information Management
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.103-120
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• 2011

The astronomical data obtained by observations of celestial objects movements are useful in our daily life. These data - such as 1) sunrise and sunset data, 2) data transformation between lunar calendar and solar calendar, 3) solar eclipse and lunar eclipse data, and 4) sun's altitude and azimuth data - were used to important things in the agricultural society and ancient kingdom. In the modern society, these data have been used continuously for the legal disputes, construction of buildings and the other areas. This is a good example of pure science data using directly in our life. However there are difficulties to public service because all the data were printed as an Almanac. Using MySQL, we constructed web-based service system which makes to use them easily. This database system was made for the quick search using the calculated orbital data of celestial bodies.