A report containing photos taken by German missionaries that show what Korea looked like in the early 20th century has been made public, according to the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The announcement Monday came two years after the conclusion of a joint project by the state-run group and a local research institute on Korean church history to retrieve the 1,874 photos showing Korean people or landscapes held by St. Ottilien Archabbey, a Benedictine monastery in southern Germany.
The monastery, which began dispatching missionaries to Korea in 1909, has been keeping the photos from Korea, an archive that was enriched by Archabbot Norbert Weber (1870-1956), who used the autochrome technique to take early color photographs. Weber, who visited Korea in 1911 and 1925, was one of the German missionaries who kept visual records of their stay.
It’s unclear exactly how many German Benedictine missionaries were sent to Korea at the time.
“Thanks to various fortunate circumstances, I was able to vividly capture the last images of cultural treasures that were destined to disappear, and their value will be judged by discerning readers and future generations,” Weber is quoted as saying by St. Ottilien Archabbey.
In the photos, missionaries are seen teaching Korean children at school and posing against the backdrop of a cathedral under construction. The missionaries are also seen next to city walls and Buddhist temples, some of which have now disappeared or sustained damage.
Koreans dressed in traditional clothing are also captured.
“The photos revealed today are important in that they provide a glimpse into not only the ordinary lives at the time but the history of Korean photography itself,” said an official at the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The foundation official pointed to photos from a similar era taken by mediums other than the autochrome technique used by the German missionaries, saying studying the contrasts would help historians studying Korean photography.
In the 1,874 photos, Seoul was the place most often pictured, followed by South Hamgyong Province, Hwanghae Province and Gyeonggi Province.
The photos are available on the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation website and those who wish to use them are asked to contact the foundation. The use of the photos requires consulting with the German monastery, the foundation added.
Kim Jung-hee, the foundation chair, personally delivered the report to Abbot Jeremias Schroder OSB, president of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien, at the Retreat House of the Order of St. Benedict Seoul Abbey in Seoul, Monday.
