Customer Reviews

Korea: Caught in Time (Caught in Time Series)

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Korea, the land of the morning calm, shut itself off from the rest of the world for as long as it could until kicking and screaming, Korea began to open its kingdom to the West for the first time in the 1870's. Korea doesn't seemed to have grabbed the imagination of the Victorian traveler in quite the same way as China or Japan, so as a consequence there is much less of a visual record of the colonial era in Korea. To compensate for this, Korea: Caught in Time helps me visualise what the people, and the places, were like as Korea moved into the modern age. As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words.

A number of photographs were taken by Herbert Ponting, who later accompanied Captain Scott to the Antarctic, and by Felice Beato, who is the first known photographer to have worked in Korea, having being part of the American Trading expedition in 1871. Other early western photographers have their images reproduced here. A number of Japanese photographers also worked in Korea, during the time of the Japanese colonial occupation, and a sampling of their work is included.There are images taken from the first significant foray by the Western world into Korea by America, American ships making their presence felt on the Korean peninsula in 1871 and capturing, probably for the first time ever, photographic images of Korean people.

There are samplings of the initial contact with the outside world, and of some of the minor ensuing conflicts. Farming and industries are depicted as is daily Korean life in the cities such as weddings and funerals, and general street scenes such as cobblers plying their trade. There are a number of formal portraits of members of the aristocracy and government officials. There are also hand coloured photographs of members of Korean embassy staff in Japan, which are interesting for the ceremonial costumes they are wearing.

Having worked in Korea, and having visited Seoul many times while I was there, I have developed a keen interest in Korean history. This book was a very useful addition to my Korean history collection as it is the only one that is extensively illustrated. I can highly recommend "Korea Caught in Time" if you have an interest in Korean history.

This book presents rare pictures form a country that had sealed itself off from the rest of the world and tried to keep out the west. Not until the latter part of the last century was Korea forced to open up. The pictures not only present first impressions of Korea by western photographers, but also show an early show of western force against the desire of Korea to keep itself free of western influence. The early documentation of imperial force gives thought to how much or how little things have changed from just a century ago. Native Koreans themselves would perhaps enjoy the early photography of their country. With Korea so much in the news today this book can teach a great deal.