Explorers ventured out into the seas to discover new worlds. Those who sailed into the vast oceans pioneered new routes, discovered new continents, and upon returning to their homelands, introduced new cultures. Let's learn about two prominent explorers.

The first, depicted in the portrait in the upper left, is the British explorer James Cook. James Cook undertook three major voyages of exploration. His first voyage, from 1768 to 1771, took him to New Zealand and Australia. The second, lasting three years and beginning in 1772, was to the Antarctic region. His third and final voyage, starting in 1776, explored the North Pacific, the Bering Strait, and the Arctic Ocean. The mapping of the Pacific Islands discovered during Cook's explorations significantly contributed to the completion of the mapping of the Pacific. Tragically, Cook met his end at the hands of natives in Hawaii during his third voyage. The surviving crew members completed his final voyage and published "Account of Captain Cook’s Voyage," the book you see now, in his honor.

Next, displayed on the right side inside the showcase, is a book titled "Voyage Around the World by Lapérouse." The Count of Lapérouse, a French explorer, embarked on a three-year oceanic voyage from 1785 to 1788 under the command of King Louis XVI. In 1785, the Lapérouse expedition set sail from France, crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and by 1787, they had reached the seas near Korea. In the book, at the very top of an illustration, there is a depiction of an island labeled 'Quelpart,' which is actually Korea’s Jeju Island. Additionally, an island marked 'Dagelet' on the bottom right of the Jeju illustration represents Ulleungdo, another Korean island. So it is clear through his recorded findings that Lapérouse explored the seas around Jeju and Ulleungdo.

This concludes our tour of the first area of the exhibition, the Navigation Hall, where we explored Guiding the way on the seas.