The Daedongnyeojido 大東輿地圖 or “Territorial Map of the Great East [Korea]” is considered as the most significant work of Korean cartography due to its unusual size, accuracy and practicability of use. This woodblock printed map, of which 33 copies have survived, was made in 1861 by Kim Jeong-ho 金正浩 (ca. 1804–ca. 1866). About two thirds of these prints show variations in their colouring. In the following years manuscript copies of Daedongnyeojido were produced – also in various colouring. After providing an overview of the role of colours in Korean cartography, this paper aims to classify the Daedongnyeojido in the tradition of colouring Korean maps. It will examine how the various colourings differ from each other and will discuss for what reasons and in which way the colourist used colours to reflect specific information on the maps. Furthermore the paper will provide an insight into the colourants used for the colouring of two map sets kept in the Museum am Rothenbaum in Hamburg.