Study on Survey Activities for Geology and Mineral Resources in the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty Based on the Records of Ancient Literatures

Abstract

In this research, we have extracted historical records regarding the geotechnology from the Goryeosa and the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty which are rated as ancient books that have objective views in the Goryeo Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty in order to understand the national awareness and the social situation of the past events. We used the Korean history database system of National Institute of Korean History (NIKH) and collected related records by searching specific keywords such as volcano, mining, hot spring, and meteorite. According to the historical records, geological events such as the volcano and meteorite were regarded as important issues which were enough to be recorded in annals and surveyed by the dispatched government officials to the fields of events. In case of the hot springs, government officials conducted explorations of hot springs at king's orders and developed the potential areas of hot springs. Among the historical records on mining, the contents of geotechnology including the contents about discovered minerals and its locations can be easily found from those ancient books. Especially, it is possible to understand the history of geotechnology such as an establishment of modern organizations and a capitalistic flow for development through the history of the mining in the late Joseon Dynasty.