Old Maps: Antiques or Time Machines

Investigations and activities (English Focus)

1. a) Maps are a method of making sense of the world. They also tell us quite a bit about the map-maker's philosophy and perspective on the world. There are ten maps included in the Ancient Maps reflect the currents of the Middle Ages from the Autumn 2002 edition of Koreana. The writer responded to these ancient Korean maps in this way: ‘The ancient maps are not like antiques. Rather, they are like a time machine for travelling back to the past.’

b) Look at the images and write notes about what you are reminded of. What seems to be important to these map-makers from different times in Korean history? Use these prompts to discuss the information in groups:

• I was surprised to find out that …
• The most interesting thing was …
• I’d like to know more about …
• I wonder if …
• I don’t understand …
• I was less interested in …
• I didn’t know that …
• Someone who would be interested in this would be … because …
• This reminded me of …

2. Some have described the map-maker's view of the world as their ‘cosmology’. What does this word mean? Look at the Wikipedia entry on Cosmology and discuss, in small groups, how the word cosmology might apply to map-making.
3. Do an internet search for modern maps of Korea. Look at Korea through Google Maps. If a geotags feature is available, explore these tags. Contrast the modern maps with the images in Koreana. What features of Korea are important to contemporary map-makers? Discuss or create a piece of reflective writing about the following: ‘Both ancient and modern maps provide insights into the map-maker’s cosmology but the worlds they see are very different.’