Faurie’s and Taquet’s expeditions to Korea in the early 1900s and the georeferencing of old Korean place names that are disappearing

The digital accessibility of collection information has increased substantially in recent years, yet the utility of locality data for meaningful analyses remains constrained. Historical collections from the Korean Peninsula, in particular, have long been inaccessible to researchers. This study examines the Korean expeditions of two French missionaries, Urbain Jean Faurie and Émile Joseph Taquet. Faurie conducted three major expeditions: two approximately five-month journeys in 1901 and 1906, followed by a four-month expedition to Quelpaert Island (now Jeju Island) in 1907. His collections are estimated to comprise 60 000 specimens. Taquet, known for his pioneering collections from Korea – particularly from Quelpaert Island – began his significant botanical collecting in 1907 during a joint expedition with Faurie. In 1901, Faurie primarily explored central regions of the Korean Peninsula, including Jemulpo, Chinnampo, Wonsan, and Naepyong-ri. His 1906 expedition involved travelling by train from Fusan to Seoul, with explorations of Taikou (Daegu), Syou-ouen (Suwon), Keumgangsan, and Quelpaert Island. While Taquet initially collected specimens by ascending Hallasan, from 1908 to 1911 he concentrated his collecting efforts in Seogwipo (Hongro). Taquet’s specimens were distributed across multiple herbaria (E, TI, and P) and possibly sold, whereas Faurie’s specimens were more centrally housed at P and KYO. Although many historical collections worldwide are relatively well-organized, incomplete or inaccurate information often persists due to insufficient expertise, resources, and information exchange.