Photography and Korea
Jeehey KimThe first history of Korean photography for a Western readership.
From the late nineteenth century, when Korean travellers brought Western photographic technology home from China, to modern times, photography has been interwoven into Korea’s political and cultural history. In Photography and Korea, the first history of Korean photography for a Western readership, Jeehey Kim presents multiple visions of the country, including the divided peninsula, Korea as imagined through foreign eyes, key Korean artists, Korean diasporas and local professional and vernacular photographers. Kim explores studio and institutional practices during the Japanese colonial period, and the divergence of practices after the division of Korea.
-
'
Kim draws on a selection of striking images to bring alive Korean politics, foreign relations, and norms, making this both a comprehensive history of Korean photography and a worthy examination of Korean identity. Photography enthusiasts should take a look.
'Publishers Weekly
-
'
A unique contribution to our understanding of photography in Korea. Jeehey Kim shows how photography began in the region, who adopted and promoted it, and how the role of photography has evolved and diversified over periods since the 19th century, as Korea developed through its colonial legacy, occupation and war, and rapid social, political and economic developments. Invaluable for students and readers interested in the visual culture of the country and its history.
'Mina Kim, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Alabama
-
'
A pioneering study and key resource for scholars of photography history, visual culture, Korean studies, and East Asian studies. Photography and Korea’s broad scope, including vernacular photography and printed materials, allows us to visualize the dispersed stories of Korean photography and anchors them in photographic discourse. Not only does this book provide a framework for photo historians focusing on the region but it also contributes to the decolonization and diversification of the history of photography.
'Boyoung Chang, Mellon Assistant Professor in History of Art and Architecture, Vanderbilt University
-
'
. . . the whole story of photography inside, outside – and related to Korea . . . [that helps] visualize Korean photography outside of a orientalist eye or colonialist view . . . it should be a reference for everyone interested in the history of photography in Korea.
'Photographica World
Jeehey Kim is an Assistant Professor of the Art History programme at the University of Arizona. She has published widely on the history of photography, visual culture and film studies in East Asia.