Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

Carte de la Corée, drawn by Father André Kim, is the first map including the romanized toponyms with the Korean sound of Chinese characters. This article examines the probable ways of romanized toponyms on the map, and analyzes the characteristics of notation and the methodological influences in a history of the romanized Korean. Analyzing the methods of transliteration and transcription in the history of Korean Romanization, firstly, it has been revealed that André Kim’s Letters had used the variable ways, and Dictionnaire Coréen-Français and A Korean-English Dictionary had used the transliteration and the transcription respectively. Secondly, Carte de la Corée had mainly used the way of transcription, besides, it has a leading influence on the present Romanization in Korea. Thirdly, by comparing the romanized toponyms between André Kim’s Letters and Carte de la Corée, it is found that they both had the diversity of Romanization and the several of same romanized toponyms in the absence of rules for writing at that time. Fourthly, in the notation of vowel and consonant of the romanized toponyms on the map, one vowel and consonant respectively corresponds to the several alphabetic notations, while about 16 vowel and 10 consonant had continued to be romanized in Dictionnaire Coréen-Français. Fifthly, in the case of ‘seoul’, ‘ousan’, etc., it is confirmed that the romanized geographical names on the map had reflected the Korean sound of Chinese characters in the mid-nineteenth century with which ordinary people had communicated in the daily life. Finally, it is found that there are a number of omitted toponyms and mistakes of drawing over borderline from which his urgent situation in mapping can be inferred.