• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.195-214
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• 2009

The Mangi yoram("萬機要覽"), a guidebook of state affairs, was published by royal command in the late Joseon period. Its chapters on financial affairs(財用篇) are particularly remarkable, as they explain on all aspects of the national finance of the late Joseon period in a clear manner. The financial part of the Mangi yoram includes metallic mineral resources, such as the location of gold, silver, copper, lead deposits and the prosperity and decline of the mines, and the various uses of each of the minerals. These are still regarded as valuable resources. Its contents on agricultural geography comprise not only the total yearly output of grains, paddyfields and dryfields, their taxation and standards of taxation, but also ginseng which was famous in the outside world in the pre-modern era. The book also clearly explains distribution of agricultural dikes for irrigation and their functions. The book also contains information on forestry geography, e.g. the varieties of pine trees and their distribution and mountain containment policies. Contents related to commercial geography consist of material on different types of markets such as the yukuijeon(六矣廛), sijeon(市廛), peongsisuh(平市署), nanjeon(亂廛), and the distribution, size and prosperity and decline of the border markets of the northern frontier such as the hoeryungkaesi(會寧開市) and geongwonkaesi(慶源開市). Contents related to transport geography are the distribution and functions of government granaries etc. Obviously, this book contains detailed information on various aspects of Korean geography. If we try to understand the contents of this book from the framework of modern geographical classification schemes, the geographic information contained in the book assumes even greater significance. In sum one may conclude that this book, which the king kept by his side, contained useful geography related knowledge and necessary information, and was directly relevant to the administration of the country. It exerted immense influence on the contemporary intellectual world of Joseon Korea, and was regarded as an invaluable resource.