The city of Andong, Korea, named as the place of publication of the earlier book in this collection, was the home of Korean Confucian academies that perpetuated the scholastic tradition of Confucianism through scholarship and education. Private groups preserved the learning of sages in books that covered a wide range of genres, including letters, daily journals, poems, and academic papers.

The columns of characters forming the text are carved in reverse on double-sided woodblocks, from which right-reading prints on paper could be made. The text on each page reads top down, right to left. Handles attached to the short sides of the rectangular woodblocks bear ink inscriptions identifying the book title, volume number, and folio (leaf) number. Each side of a woodblock yields a printed impression of two consecutive book pages on one sheet of paper that, folded in half, forms a single leaf or folio. The lettering in the center column separating each pair of pages identifies the book title, volume number, and folio (leaf) number. This information would facilitate the assembly and binding of the folded leaves (arranged to be read right to left) to form a volume.