The following set of photos were uploaded on popular postings website Ilbe, by a netizen who reflects upon a Seoul that once was. They show how Korea’s landscape was still very much a poor one in the years following the Korean War, while also serving as an interesting comparison to those pictures we brought to you of pre-war Seoul.
It is also worth noting that the series was posted one day after presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye re-iterated her father’s coup d’etat “was the best choice in an unavoidable situation.” Many in Korea, especially those of the older generation, still hail President Park Chung-hee‘s rapid economic developement policies as having brought Korea from rags to riches. Perhaps were these photos uploaded to remind fellow younger (Ilbe-user) voters who the obvious choice is this autumn?
From Ilbe:
The following pictures with this [small] size are of Cheonggyecheon [stream that passes through Seoul]. You will find pictures of Seoul after scrolling halfway down. These pictures came to light thanks to a Japanese photographer who donated the films. I have been collecting these pictures whilst posting some of them on DC Inside; now here I am, posting these on Ilbe too. ke
My father used to wash his ragged clothes here ㅠㅠ
While some peopled pooped upstream, the downstream residents washed their hands [with the same water]. ‘ㅅ’ duh duh ;;
This block with a straight road was a relatively richer neighbourhood. They even have electricity going through this neighbourhood. ke
These kids would sometimes found their playmates the next day suffocated to death from briquette gas along with their neighbours.ㅠㅠ
That row of laundry shows the housewife’s sense of balance.
Ooooh! The hot lady in a nice green dress!
Cows were meant to be ridden and raised by children. Well, I am not sure it really is a cow. The owner lived in Cheonggyecheon and raise a cow duh duh duh duh; maybe that is not a cow but a fucking huge straw bag. Wow ke ke ke ke
How old might these kids be? ;;
An umbrella shop [with sign written in red] duh duh duh..
She is making hand-made umbrellas with recycled fabrics. It seems like with one kick, that bicycle would break in half. ;;
Bored, unemployed ajossis..
Inside of a house.. There also seems to be a Bible.
In any case, looks like he’s an engraver.
There used to only be a few toilets where everybody would stand in queues.
I guess they are waiting for corns to be cooked in the picture?
The following pictures are of Seoul.
They are not as old as the previous ones.
I am not sure what part of Seoul this is.
Cheonggyecheon, again. Are they making paper??
-1970-
Hey that’s my land! [Back in the days] Once you claimed ownership of a land and built a house in Samseong-dong, Gangnam, you would have become rich.
Oooh! Hey, come on out, Kim Du-han! This is Seoul station.
This is Yeouido ke ke ke ke The building at the far back of this picture is the National Assembly ke ke The evil stock exchange market was yet to be seen. ke
This is the Jangchung Gymnasium. Rumour has it the gymnasium was built by a Filipino company; that’s not true. It was designed and built by a Korean, Kim Jeong-su.
-Unknown year-
I guess it is below Namsan, looking down to Seoul Station.
Oooo, nice butt. ke
White underwear and jeans seem like a uniform around this market.
Wonder what this boy selling corn might be doing these days..
Is this possibly dog-meat?
What a sight ke ke ke ke
Her beautiful clothing seems to reflect her economic status.
A bus going to Oryu-dong? Can I meet an Oryu-dong middle school student by getting on that bus?
Look at that electric lines, it looks like some sort of an electric fence. duh duh
That Miwang [writing in red on brown building] is probably today’s Miwon [company name]. There used to be a lot of companies with ‘Mi-something’ names, selling seasonings. ke
And finally, present day:
Ok I have to go drink a beer with my dad now.
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Oh, he just said no, saying that he is full. ;ㅅ;
My last challenge then is to make this one of the best articles on Ilbe.
Comments from Ilbe:
자반고등어:
Back then, Seoul pretty much looked like Pyongyang.
담배있느냐:
Come unification, we’ll go back to those times. ^^
복뜡아숭아:
Wow, these are amazing photos.
내사랑재팬:
It feels like watching a cartoon depicting the 70s and 80s. It would have been hard to get coloured photos of that time, thanks!
얭키즈:
Thank you for sharing these photos.
시발슈퍼섹스새끼:
Do you want me to believe that those nice pictures are that old? It seems fabricated, so I’ll vote it down.
각설이:
They are just pictures, yet these remind me that how hard our parents and grandparents generations worked to build this nation. ke ke ke ke thanks!
싱나:
Mr President Park, thank you very much.
골드쿠폰:
As you all might imagine, what would’ve happened if one of our ancestors bought some plots of land in Seoul..?
비켄네스:
Hail to the great President Park Chung-hee!!
장군이와복순이:
Nothing would have changed very much without Park Chung-hee
네프:
Ooooh, I’ve heard about that time before, but fuck, Korea was freaking poor. It’s impressive.
청렴한조국:
Thank those people who worked so hard to let us all sit and enjoy the internet, laughing at Ilbe articles.
메스티소:
Wow, that lady in a green dress is a time-traveller.
정신지체장애:
Is that really Seoul? I live in Sambang-dong, Gimhae; it’s isolated area, even for a Gimhae standard. I was shocked when I first went Seomyeon, Busan; but Seoul is way more intense. I wonder whether it is the same Korea I live in. I was a sixth grader the last time I went to Seoul. The tallest building in my town is about 10-storeys high, although there are mostly 3-storey buildings. It’s a fucking isolated countryside.
딱따구리부리:
Aren’t there pictures of Cheongdam-dong? I heard that here too used to be rice paddies… keke. Whenever I see these kinds of pictures, I can’t help but admire the dramatic changes.
살기좋은충주:
Being a country man, my dream is to live in the Seoul National Capital Area with my love and live happily fucking ever after.. Living in a crowded city would be fun, wouldn’t it? The more people living around you, the more human touch you get!
대구광역시:
Those bastards who criticize Park Chung-hee must really love living the way they do today. It’d be nice to ship them off to an isolated region of Africa.
오카마짱:
That certainly is what Park Won-soon wants Seoul to be. He already is raising rice in front of Saewoon Plaza Jongno. He certainly is a crazy bastard, though there already were rice paddies in the area.
트리스탄:
If you’d like to share photos, then you should’ve shared the related information too. Those Cheonggyecheon photos are basically all from the same area, to be specific, it’s near Wangshimni. Those hills and white buildings are of Hanyang University. The tallest one is the Hanyang University hospital. And the pictures were taken by a Japanese or American, either way, he/she was a gaedok.
And the picture of an elevated road was taken looking at the road from Jongno 1-ga to Euljiro 1-ga, i.e. Samilo, therefore looking toward Myeong-dong.
Finally, the picture with white sheets dotted around Cheonggyecheon does not show people ‘making paper’, but ‘dying fabric’. Back in those days, many people used to dye fabric; the stream was as dirty as one of Chinky streams, although it isn’t so much different from today’s Cheonggyecheon.
