Joseonwangjosillok

The 2,077-volume Joseonwangjosillok (Annals of the Dynasty of Joseon, National Treasure No. 151) is a daily, chronological record of events spanning 472 years (1392-1863) and covering 25 reigns of Joseon kings from Taejo, the founding king, (r. 1392-1398) to Cheoljong (r. 1849-1863), the third to the last king. Covering politics, diplomacy, society, the economy, scholar-ship and religious life, as well as astronomy, geography, music, scientific facts, astronomical events and descriptions of foreign relations in Northeast Asia, it is the longest, continuous historical record in the world and the preservation of the entire work is unprecedented. Much credit is to be given to the Joseon kings who took special measures to ensure that the work was kept safe. Four copies were printed with movable metal type.

To avoid destruction from natural or other disasters, one of these copies was kept in the Chunchugwan (Office of Annals Compilation) in Seoul and the others were kept in special repositories in remote mountains. During the Hideyoshi Invasion (1592-1598) and the Manchu invasions (in 1627 and 1636), the repositories in Seoul were burned down, but each time this happened, the lost portions of the document were reprinted. In the early 20th century, four repositories contained copies of the text; they were on Mts. Joeongjoksan, Taebaeksan, Jeokseongsan and Odaesan. Many other copies were burned or lost during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953). At present, the Jeokseongsan copy is said to be at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea, the 848-volume Taebaeksan copy is in the Government Texts Preservation Center in Busan, while the 1,181-volume Jeongjoksan copy, 27 volumes of the Odaesan copy and 21 fragments are kept in the Gyujanggak Archives in Seoul National University.