Korean Maps

I remember reading in a book about China that cartography there ended up much inferior to its European counterpart despite an early lead, due to historical reasons that I don't recall confidently enough to detail here. It made a lot of sense, but also made me think that maps in China couldn't be much worse than those here.

Korean maps have amused me for years. Every business card or website seems to use the same template, which is a basic grid. North is disregarded, as are curved streets and major geographical features, and the place in question is drawn somewhere in the middle. Then some directions are drawn showing where the roads lead, and some landmarks and/or nearby businesses are added.

The Honorary Consulate of Mongolia, which I needlessly went to a couple of weeks ago, is a case in point.

First, here is the map found on the Mongolian Embassy's website. As you can see, it sticks to the template very well.



Here is an actual map of the area. The A-pin marks the location of the consulate. Click on the photos to enlarge them.