Rare photographs shed light on Korea's history
- 9 years ago
A set of photographs taken in Korea during the late 19th and early 20th century has been revealed in the U.S.
Some of them include never-before-seen images of key figures in Korea's history.
Our Yim Yoon-hee has more.
The fifth son of Korea's Emperor Gwangmu, Prince Yi Kang, lived during a tumultuous time in Korean history, during the First Sino-Japanese War.
This recently discovered shot is one of the earliest pictures of the prince, taken in 1899 when he left to study abroad in the United States.
Another photograph is of Heungseon Daewongun , known to some Westerners as Prince Gung.
He served as regent of the Joseon Dynasty while King Gojong was a minor during the 1860s.
The picture on the right, believed to be of him in his 40s, shows a much younger version of him.
Seo Jae-pil, also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a leader in Korea's fight for independence, even putting together the doomed Gapsin Coup to oust the Joseon-era leadership.
He was the first Korean to receive U.S. citizenship and this new picture on the left shows a young 23-year-old Seo, taken in 1887.
Another leader of the failed Gapsin Coup was Park Yeoung-ho. This rare image of the Korean politician at 25, before his involvement with the enlightenment movement of Korea.
And lastly, Kim Ok-gyun, a reformist during the late Joseon Dynasty.
The image on the left shows him at 35 years old, and though there are many black-and-white photos of him, this is the first known color photograph of Kim.
And while these pictures reveal a small piece of Korea's history, musician Hwang Byung-ki holds on to history in his own way.
For decades, he's been a master of the gayageum, one of Korea's most popular traditional Korean instruments.
And now, a new book about Hwang, compiled by English scholar Andrew Killick over 25 years, has recently been published in Korean.
Yim Yoon-hee, Arirang News.
Some of them include never-before-seen images of key figures in Korea's history.
Our Yim Yoon-hee has more.
The fifth son of Korea's Emperor Gwangmu, Prince Yi Kang, lived during a tumultuous time in Korean history, during the First Sino-Japanese War.
This recently discovered shot is one of the earliest pictures of the prince, taken in 1899 when he left to study abroad in the United States.
Another photograph is of Heungseon Daewongun , known to some Westerners as Prince Gung.
He served as regent of the Joseon Dynasty while King Gojong was a minor during the 1860s.
The picture on the right, believed to be of him in his 40s, shows a much younger version of him.
Seo Jae-pil, also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a leader in Korea's fight for independence, even putting together the doomed Gapsin Coup to oust the Joseon-era leadership.
He was the first Korean to receive U.S. citizenship and this new picture on the left shows a young 23-year-old Seo, taken in 1887.
Another leader of the failed Gapsin Coup was Park Yeoung-ho. This rare image of the Korean politician at 25, before his involvement with the enlightenment movement of Korea.
And lastly, Kim Ok-gyun, a reformist during the late Joseon Dynasty.
The image on the left shows him at 35 years old, and though there are many black-and-white photos of him, this is the first known color photograph of Kim.
And while these pictures reveal a small piece of Korea's history, musician Hwang Byung-ki holds on to history in his own way.
For decades, he's been a master of the gayageum, one of Korea's most popular traditional Korean instruments.
And now, a new book about Hwang, compiled by English scholar Andrew Killick over 25 years, has recently been published in Korean.
Yim Yoon-hee, Arirang News.