North Korea朝鲜

Curatorial Note

This gallery presents two editions of the national atlas of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, spanning 1978 to 2012. Both were published by the state-run educational publishing house, reflecting a tradition rooted in the country’s centralized planning era. The earlier atlas, issued in 1978, emerged during a period of intensive state-led cartographic projects, aimed at consolidating geographical knowledge for educational and administrative purposes. The 2012 edition, produced three decades later, demonstrates continuity in editorial approach—both volumes are in Korean and follow a systematic arrangement of physical, economic, and administrative maps. The cartography emphasizes clarity and didactic utility, with a focus on territorial integrity and national development. As a pair, these atlases serve as official records of how the state has chosen to represent its territory and resources over time. Their significance lies not only in their cartographic content but also in their role as instruments of national identity and state pedagogy. For scholars, they offer a rare, consistent window into the evolving geographical self-perception of a reclusive state. The absence of external commentary in our holdings underscores the limited international engagement with these works, yet their persistence as a state publication marks a notable commitment to maintaining a formal national atlas tradition.