The Korean nation established glorious traditions in the field of science and culture over the long period from ancient times to the feudal Joson dynasty, during which they developed the science and technology onto a high stage on the basis of numerous scientific and technological achievements gained, thus exalting to the world their fame as a talented and resourceful nation.
Among those achievements is the rain gauge which was made by the Korean nation for the first time in the world.
A rain gauge, an instrument to measure the rainfall, was first invented in the world in the period of feudal Joson dynasty in 1441. The first rain gauge which was made of iron looked like a cylinder and it was 2 ja (about 40cm) in height and 8 chi (about 16cm) in diameter. In 1442 a copper rain gauge which was similar in shape to the first one was made and it was 1 ja 5 chi (about 30cm) in height and 7 chi (about 14cm) in diameter. Several rain gauges were made subsequently.
The rain gauge was placed on a stand to catch the rainwater in it for the measurement of its amount. Such gauges were installed in the yards of government offices in the capital and other provinces. In the capital they were made of copper and in other provinces they were made of porcelain or clay. In every county the time when it started and stopped raining was recorded and the amount of rain in that time was measured, which was reported to the provinces. Then the provinces reported the collected data to Soungwan (an institute for astronomical and meteorological observations in feudal society, also called Kwansanggam), where all the data were recorded. It was made a system at that time.
The scientific measurement of the rainfall by rain gauge and the system of collecting measurement data were found in our country for the very first time in the world.
In Italy it was not until 1639 when the depth of rainwater was measured with a gauge. In addition, many years after it rain gauges were installed all over the country and the system of collecting the data of rainfall by the central institute was established. This explains that the rain gauge devised and used in Joson was about 200 years earlier than in Europe.
The rain gauge is a typical meteorological heritage that made a significant contribution to the development of astronomical and meteorological observation technology of our country and at the same time it is part of the priceless cultural heritage that is permeated with creative talents of the Korean nation.
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