Country Profiles » Korea, North

Country Profile: Korea, North

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
EVGmap 50 North Korea Vector DataEast View Geospatial1:50,0002008 – 2008231
EVGmap 1000 North Korea Vector DataEast View Geospatial1:1,000,0002008 – 20084
South Korea 1:250,000 Scale Topographic MapsGeographical Survey Institute1:250,0001997 – 200221
North Korea 1:50,000 Scale Topographic MapsKyung-In Publishing Company1:50,0001978 – 1991400

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Japan 1:2,000,000 Scale Volcanic Geology MapChishitsu Chosa Tokoro / Geological Survey of Japan1:2,000,0001981 – 19811
China 1:2,500,000 Scale Quaternary Geological Map (9 sheets)Dizhi Chubanshe / Geological Publishing House1:2,500,0001990 – 19901
China 1:4,000,000 Scale Geological Map (2 sheets)Dizhi Chubanshe / Geological Publishing House1:4,000,0001977 – 19771
China 1:5,000,000 Scale Metallic Resources MapDizhi Chubanshe / Geological Publishing House1:5,000,0001992 – 19921
China 1:5,000,000 Scale Mineral Resources MapDizhi Chubanshe / Geological Publishing House1:5,000,0001992 – 19921
China 1:5,000,000 Scale Nonmetallic Resources MapDizhi Chubanshe / Geological Publishing House1:5,000,0001992 – 19921

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

East View Geospatial has an ongoing effort to add GIS census data to our Global Census Archive program. Please contact us for the status and availability of North Korea census resources.


Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Nautical | Geological/Scientific | Atlas | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

Modern topographic mapping of North Korea was established after the end of the Korean War and following partition of the peninsula. A new national triangulation was carried out between 1958 and 1965 and the Gauss Conformal transverse cylindrical projection, Krassovsky ellipsoid, was adopted by the National Bureau of Geodesy and Cartography, which assumed responsibility for official map publication. Mapping was carried out with Russian aid by Glavnoe Upravlenie Geodezii Kartografii (GUGK), now Federal’naya Sluzhba Geodezii i Kartografii Rossii (Roskartografija), and specifications followed Soviet practice, but with Cyrillic names replaced by Korean characters. Basic scale mapping at 1:25,000 was carried out and completed for all of the country with a 10 m contour interval relative to the Wonsum Gulf datum. This map was compiled using photogrammetry, apart from a few areas close to the border with the south. Smaller scale series were derived from this survey and published at 1:50,000, 1:100,000, 1:200,000, 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 scales. A revision program was implemented using aerial photography and satellite imagery.

Soviet military topographic mapping of North Korea is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (4 sheets, complete coverage, published 1976-1987); 1:500,000 (11 sheets, complete coverage, published 1982-1991); 1:200,000 (41 sheets, complete coverage, published 1977-1992); 1:100,000 (122 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1992); 1:50,000 (405 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1991) and city (1:10,000 to 1:25,000) topographic mapping of Chongjin, Dandong, Hamhung, Kaesong and Pyongyang published between 1975 and 1981. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

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Nautical

Hydrographic charting of North Korean coastal waters has been carried out by the Hydrographic Department in Pyongyang. A range of 200 charts for domestic use are maintained, with 15 charts for foreign vessels. The best available charting of these waters is Russian coverage compiled by the Soviet Chief Administration for Navigation and Oceanography, Glavnoe Upravlenie Navigatsii i Okeanografii (GUNO), which is available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats through East View Geospatial.

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Geological/Scientific

Small scale mapping of the whole Korean Peninsula is the best available earth science coverage of North Korea. This includes a geological map from the Russian Ministry of Geology (Roskomnedra) and South Korean coverage from the earth science mapping agency Korea Institute of Geology Mining and Materials (KIGAM) in Seoul. Larger scale earth science mapping programs in the past have been sponsored by the Geology and Geography Research Institute of the North Korean Academy of Sciences in Pyongyang.

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Atlas

In 1997 a two-volume atlas of North Korea was published by the South Korean Kyung-In Publishing Company which included complete 1:50,000 scale North Korean coverage.

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Tourist/Reference

North Korea is covered on commercially published general maps of the whole Peninsula from Chungang and Nelles Verlag.

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Content copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition