The history of cartography in Korea goes back prior to the period of the Samguk (the Three Kingdoms period). The map of the Liaodong province in an ancient tomb mural from the Goguryeo period and the records of Samguksagi (三國史記) show that many maps were made on a national level. In the traditional ages, as the map was the basic data source for the national government, the national authority wanted to grasp the status of the land. Especially in times of emergency such as wars, maps were crucial to military operations. The tradition of cartography continued from the Goryeo period to the Joseon period.