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| A busy little side street circa 1908-10. If only this picture could provide us with 1,000 words about the lives of each of these pedestrians. / Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
Palaces, gates, temples and old monuments are often the subject in old photographs of Korea. The value of these images is undisputed as they provide us with a glimpse of these important sites from a century ago, but the sheer number of them and their lack of different perspective of view make them repetitive and boring. Often, some of the most interesting pictures are those of mundane street encounters. A group of pictures from Romania ― circa 1908-1910 ― provoke more questions than answers. Obviously some of the images were purchased from the photography shops in Seoul but one or two may have been from the visitor's own camera.
One is left to wonder why a group of dignified men ― wearing their finest clothes and sporting their tinted glasses (a popular status symbol) ― would stop long enough for their pictures to be taken. Women ― their faces hidden ― flit from the front of one shop to another. Are they customers or merely on their way to visit a friend? A task they would not have likely taken during the daylight hours only a decade or two earlier. Markets filled with vendors and their potential customers provide us with a look at what wares and goods were popular ― but, more so than this, they provide us with unabashed views of children observing the adult world.
Why did the early visitor choose to buy or snap these pictures ― which are rather simple and unexciting ― as opposed to the more popular images of the palaces, new government buildings and the more iconic images of Korean life? What did this person see that we don't?
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| A group of distinguished-looking gentlemen circa 1908-10. Not all who wore glasses needed them to see; some wore them to be seen. / Robert Neff Collection |
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| Women wear cloaks over their heads to protect themselves from the view of strangers (men), circa 1908-10. In the mid-1890s, there were a number of two-story brick buildings erected near Deoksu Palace. / Robert Neff Collection |
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| A busy market (presumably in Seoul) circa 1908-10, where not all of the customers are looking at the merchandise ― some are staring at the camera. / Robert Neff Collection |
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| According to one early visitor, circa 1908-10: "This turtle has two holes for nostrils because turtle is sacred the Korean gentlemen stick tobacco in the holes to sanctify it" (sic). / Robert Neff Collection | A postcard image circa 1905 ― possibly taken a few years earlier ― shows a trio of boys posing for a picture. The one boy has a curious ― almost cigarette-like ― white spot near his mouth. / Robert Neff Collection |
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| One of the main streets in Seoul circa 1908-10. Often the thoroughfares were encroached upon by shops and homes ― which were then removed during large ceremonial parades or when the local government tired of their inconvenience. / Robert Neff Collection |
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| Seoul streets were often bemoaned as being filthy and dangerous but many possessed sewers or small channels to remove the waste. This cart appears to have been used for watering down the street to keep the dust at bay as well as the filth. Circa 1913 ― obviously not by the Romanian visitor. / Robert Neff Collection |
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
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