 A man leads his cow next to the vestiges of Un-gyo in a picture taken in the early 1900s. Un-gyo, a bridge which used to connect the German Embassy in Korea and Deoksu Palace, was later removed. / Courtesy of Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center |
By Park Sung-hee
History is often full of gaps. But fortunately for us, there are bits and pieces that help fill in the missing portions to tell the whole story.
A very small yet special five-month exhibition started Thursday along the usually quiet Jeongdong-gil, a road near Deoksu Palace famous among people who look to take a break from the busy streets of Seoul.
“I’ve collected those photos for thirty years, and finally they’re here in front of the public, forty of them for the very first time,” said Jeong Sung-gil, the Honorary Museum Director of Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, and the person who made this exposition come true.
The Korea Culture Center, a private organization based in Seoul, and the German Embassy in Korea took part in the organization as well.
One hundred waterproof photos ― two on each specially-designed easel ― were on display along the walkway. Each image captured the various historical monuments, rulers, and everyday lives of Koreans between 1890 and 1920, near the end of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) and well into the time of Japan’s annexation (1910-1945) over the country.
Some like the Sungnyemun (Namdaemun), the southern gate that formerly walled the city of Seoul from foreign invasions and war, or the early Myeongdong Cathedral, Ewha School and Korean Bank were recognizable to many.
While others such as the military exercises of the early 1900s with soldiers in their modern black uniform yet traditional Korean shoes, or the face of Emperor Gojong during his abdication seemed unfamiliar to the passersby that inquisitively peered at the photos during their walk.
Housing sites such as the Deoksu Palace, the British, Canadian Embassy, and former German and Russian legations, Jeongdong-gil is a site that has contributed its share of making history.
Though linked and publicized with various historical narratives of the Christian missionaries, Russian exiles, the fight for the freedom of press and suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun, one particular bridge that had once crossed paths with Jeongdong-gil remained more or less in the dark.
“One part of the wall here looks very different from the rest because it was once a part of Un-gyo,” said Ambassador Hans-Ulrich Seidt of the German Embassy which sponsored the event. “The bridge (Un-gyo) used to connect the Deoksu Palace with the German Legation. It is now gone but some remnants are still left.”
Forgotten monuments like Un-gyo are not uncommon. But what gives light to things unremembered are proof, in this case, photos.
“A piece of history can be forgotten or written in one sentence in a textbook,” said Jeong. “But a photo tells all, what has happened and what we have lost.”
“I didn’t know about the exhibition,” but happened to pass by as my school is near here,” said Park Seung-ryeun, 24, who was reading the caption to a photo aloud. “It’s a pity that there’s not much left of what we see in these photos.”
With many of these still images, it told more than just one event.
“Many details are more or less an accident in a photo, but this is what gives the additional information, and at times tells much more,” said Dr. Siedt. “This wonderful collection contributes to a much better understanding of the late Joseon Empire but also to the complex history of Korea.”
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