The practice of
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
was delayed until the late 19th century, because of the
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
's policy forbidding contact with foreigners.
First, a few foreign photographers, such as
Felix Beato
Felice Beato (1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, ...
, took photographs in Korea or of Korean people outside of Korea in the 1860s and 1870s.
In the late 19th century, some Korean photographers appeared. Kim Yong-Won, who was the first professional photographer in Korea, opened a photo studio in 1883. In 1884, Ji Un-Young and Hwang Chul opened studios. But the activities of these studios did not lead to the spread of photography in Korea.
In 1910,
Japan colonised Korea and after that, Japanese photographers became very active in Korea. On the other hand, Kyong-sung Photographers' Association (京城写真師会) was founded in 1926. Further, during the 1930s, many Korean amateur photographers appeared, setting up "70 amateur photography clubs with up to 1000 members." The Japanese government restricted Korean photographers' activities during World War II.
After World War II, the amateur photographers' group Chosun Photo Art Study Group (Choson Sajin Yesul Yonguhui) was formed in 1945. Art photography was the dominant tendency among amateur photographers during this period.
South Korea
In the 1960s after the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, photojournalism and commercial photography began to emerge.
After the 1970s, photography became very popular in South Korea, and now is still very popular among Koreans.
Researchers in this area
*陸命心 (The Department of Photography, Seoul Institute of the Arts, 서울예술대학)
Further reading
* Terry Bennett, Korea Caught In Time, Garnet Publishing, 1997.
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