• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.739-759
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• 2016

C. Gottsche(1855-1909), the Deutsch geologist, was invited by $M{\ddot{o}}llendorff$ who was the viceminister of foreign affairs in Korea, and travelled through the inland of Korean peninsula in 1884. He covered 2,550km in 138 days. After that journey, he wrote three academic papers about the geography and geology of Korea with the data of that field trip. Those paper bear considerable significance in that they included the first approaches to Korean geography and geology by a field-scientist with a modern academic training. Unlike other two papers focusing on the geology or the minerals, "The Geography of Korea(${\ddot{U}}ber$ Land und Leute in Korea(1886))" has its own value as a historical document, because it shows how the contempory Korea actually appeared to the eye of a $19^{th}$ western field-scientist. As this has not been introduced in Korean acdemic journals yet, this study might contribute to the understanding of how westerners regarded Korea in the end of 19th century.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.77-88
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• 2015

Advanced geological surveys and exploration activities were first carried out in Korea in 1884 in accordance with a treaty of friendship and commerce between Great Britain and Korea and a treaty of friendship and commerce between Germany and Korea. The first paper by Gottsche, C. was also published in a German Journal in 1886. Efforts toward independent acquisition of Western geological survey and exploration technology were actively promoted by the Korean Empire in the early 1900s, but were frustrated by the Japanese Empire. Systematic geological surveys and exploration were conducted in Korea by Japanese geologists during the Japanese occupation. A basic geological maps(61sheets), a bulletin on the geological survey of Korea, a bulletin and technical report on deposits in Korea, and a coalfield geological survey report were published during this period. Overall, the intentions under lying the geological surveys and exploration activities by foreigners in Korea prior to the Japanese occupation were questionable. However, the results of these surveys and explorations themselves can be evaluated as positive in terms of academic performance.