Home » News » Seoul Museum of History’s Book ‘Seoul Photos from the Library of Congress: Four Perspectives’ Released: View Rare Photos of Joseon Dynasty and 1960s-era Korea

Seoul Museum of History’s Book ‘Seoul Photos from the Library of Congress: Four Perspectives’ Released: View Rare Photos of Joseon Dynasty and 1960s-era Korea

Anguk-dong area seen from above (June 26, 1950), New York World Telegram & Sun Collection / Seoul Museum of History

The Seoul Museum of History announced on the 12th that it had published ‘Seoul Photos from the Library of Congress: Four Perspectives’, which contains 163 photos from the late Joseon Dynasty to the 1960s.

It contains photos taken by U.S. diplomats, journalists, and U.S. media outlets in the late Joseon Dynasty and held by the U.S. Library of Congress. Photographs included in documents from the Japanese Government-General of Korea obtained by the United States from Japan immediately after liberation were also included.

View of Sungnyemun Gate and private houses outside the walls (1884-1885) / Seoul Museum of History Sungnyemun Gate and panoramic view of Seoul from Namsan Mountain / Seoul Museum of History

The photo of Sungnyemun Gate taken by George C. Polk, a U.S. Navy officer dispatched as a diplomatic attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Joseon, is believed to be the oldest existing photo of Sungnyemun Gate. Pictures of private houses near the walls of Sungnyemun Gate and the panoramic view of Seoul from Namsan Mountain were taken.

A child selling taffy in Jongno 2-ga (before 1911). Photographed by American travel writer Carpenter. /Seoul History Museum

Frank George Carpenter, an American travel journalist, described and photographed ordinary houses in Korea in his 1925 books ‘Carpenter’s Geography Textbook: Asia’ and ‘Japan and Korea’. He writes, “Young boys in Joseon sell candy by carrying trays with ropes hanging over their shoulders,” and “Houses in Joseon are shaped like horseshoes, and people mainly live in houses made of wood or thatched huts made of stone and mud with straw on top.” did.

Panoramic view of the Namsan area seen from Jongno 3-ga (Japanese colonial period) / Seoul Museum of History

Joseon’s appearance during the late Joseon Dynasty is also recorded in detail in a photograph contained in a document from the Japanese Government-General of Korea obtained by the United States from Japan immediately after liberation.

These photos were taken by the Government-General of Korea in the process of investigating Joseon’s living conditions, economic situation, commercial areas, villages, etc., including Gyeongseong, Pyongyang, Incheon, Suwon, Daejeon, Gangneung, Gyeongju, Busan, Gwangju, Jeju, Hwanghae-do, Hamheung, and Gando. The whole country was included. The photographer is believed to be Tenko Murakami, who ran a photo studio in Gyeongseong at the time.

In particular, the cityscape of Namsan area seen from the Jongno 3-ga area is vividly captured.

January 19, 1946, protest against trusteeship / Seoul Museum of History

Unpublished photos taken by the New York World Journal Tribune, an American daily newspaper published from 1920 to 1967, were also released.

You can see the protest procession that gathered against the decision to govern Korea for five years at the Moscow Conference passing through the road between the current Jogyesa Temple, and the Andong Villa Palace and Pungmun Girls’ School in the Anguk-dong area seen from above.

Ruined Eulji-ro and Myeong-dong area (June 22, 1952), New York World Telegram & Sun Collection / Seoul Museum of History

This book is available at Seoul Bookstore (store.seoul.go.kr) You can purchase it on the website and at the souvenir shop inside the Seoul Museum of History.

2024-02-12 05:07:30
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