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Korea’s Iron Curtain
Korea’s Iron Curtain
July 28, 2023
South Korean soldiers patrolling inside the DMZ. A South Korean guard post is in the background. Photo: Park Jongwoo
In Europe, the Iron Curtain may have fallen 30 years ago – but in Korea, it remains a bitter reality. Between 1950 and 1953, four million people lost their lives in the fierce conflict between North Korea (joined by China) and South Korea (supported by American-led UN troops). While the Korean War was effectively brought to an end with the Panmunjom Armistice Agreement – signed on July 27, 1953 – no formal peace treaty has been put in place. Instead, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea continue to be divided by a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which extends north and south of the armistice line. Civilian access to this strip of land is strictly prohibited.
In 2009 and 2010, however, the South Korean Ministry of Defence invited reportage photographer Park Jongwoo to accompany the soldiers stationed in the DMZ with his camera – making him the first civilian to be granted this opportunity. His diverse, richly detailed images offer unique insights into the everyday lives of the soldiers, as well as the natural landscape of this border barrier. The resulting photographs are now presented at the AlliiertenMuseum in Berlin from July 28, 2023 to March 31, 2024, marking the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire agreement and establishment of the demilitarised zone.
Park Jongwoo (b. 1958) is a South Korean documentary photographer and photojournalist with a focus on capturing the lives of minorities around the world. Between 1983 and 1995, he worked for The Korea Times, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
In 2009 and 2010, however, the South Korean Ministry of Defence invited reportage photographer Park Jongwoo to accompany the soldiers stationed in the DMZ with his camera – making him the first civilian to be granted this opportunity. His diverse, richly detailed images offer unique insights into the everyday lives of the soldiers, as well as the natural landscape of this border barrier. The resulting photographs are now presented at the AlliiertenMuseum in Berlin from July 28, 2023 to March 31, 2024, marking the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire agreement and establishment of the demilitarised zone.
Park Jongwoo (b. 1958) is a South Korean documentary photographer and photojournalist with a focus on capturing the lives of minorities around the world. Between 1983 and 1995, he worked for The Korea Times, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
South Korean soldiers patrolling inside the DMZ. A South Korean guard post is in the background. Photo: Park Jongwoo
South Korean soldiers marked as military police on a foot patrol in the snow.
Photo: Park Jongwoo
U.S. soldiers observing GDR border troops and checking for changes at an East German military radar site near the border between East and West Germany, 1985. Photo: AlliedMuseum/U.S. Army Photograph
Guard tower and partially double security fence along the border near Bad Hersfeld, 1987. Photo: AlliedMuseum/U.S. Army Photograph/Emmet Lewis