Life After the Korean War

The International Center of Photography (ICP) presents works by Korean photographer Han Youngsoo. Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, from February 24 to June 9, 2017.

The exhibition titled ‘Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Seoul 1956–63’ will be the first substantial U.S. showing of the work of Korean photographer Han Youngsoo (1933–1999), whose remarkable images bring to life the social and economic rebirth of Seoul in the years following the Korean War.

Han Youngsoo was little known outside of Korea during his lifetime. Seen from today’s vantage point, his photographs come as a surprise. With their impeccable composition, flawless timing, and scrupulous attention to social detail, they suggest the work of a long-lost Korean cousin of such early Magnum photographers as Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour (Chim), and Marc Riboud. After taking part in bitter frontline fighting as a young South Korean soldier during the Korean War (1950–53), Han returned to Seoul at the war’s end and found a devastated city.

Choosing photography as a profession, he witnessed a period of profound transformation in Seoul that saw the rapid creation of a modern city and urban society. His photographs tell this story by offering a fascinating window onto the everyday lives of the city’s ordinary men, women, and children.

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