Abstract

This essay is to retrace the French folk geographer Charles Varat’s journey in Korea in 1888 by following his route on Daedong yeojido. In the 19th century, Korea was uncharted land to Westerners. After the 1880s when treaties with Western countries proceeded, many travelers visited Korea and left records of their journeys. Varat’s trip began in October 1888 at Jemulpo and continued for approximately 2 months. In his travel, he experienced various places including Seoul, Daegu via Joryeong Pass, and Busan, after which he sailed to Wonsan. During his stay, he left detailed records of his experiences of each place and of collected folk items. The maps, drawings, and engravings of photographs featured are rich in detail compared to other travelogues. And his narration is free and unconstrained by any fixed format. Varat displays encompassing and inviting views towards Korea, who were foreigners to him, and he gains a deeper understanding of the spiritual world of Koreans. “Voyage en Corée” is about Koreans’ way of life in harmony with their environment and displays an attentiveness to uniqueness and universality both. This shows that Varat was influenced by the study of human geography of France during this period. His travelogue influenced the formation of a new image of Korea, moving beyond the previous image created by missionaries and soldiers.