The Korea Society presents the print catalog for Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West through Christianity, a 2009 exhibition of historical photographs taken by early Christian missionaries to Korea.
Featuring more than 70 black and white photographs taken between 1887 and 1938, Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West through Christianity, captures a transformative era, when contact with Western missionaries was creating new religious identities and stoking cultural clashes that would come to shape modern Korea. Indeed, it provides a glimpse of dramatic social changes in progress that absorb the reader in their abundance of character and detail. Each photograph is accompanied by an extensive caption on the facing page that puts the scene in historical and cultural context.
More than deeply engaging collection of rare photographs, Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West through Christianity is also a solid reference book on the subject of early missionary activities in Korea, and includes essays by leading scholars and experts on Christianity in Korea such as Donald N. Clark, Hyaeweol Choi, Chang Uk Byun, Don Baker and Louanne Norris Smith.
Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West through Christianity was edited by Donald N. Clark, professor of history and the director of International Studies Program at Trinity University. Clark is the author of Culture and Customs of Korea and Living Dangerously in Korea: The Western Experience, 1900-1950. The son of missionaries, he was a Peace Corps volunteer, a Social Science Research Council fellow, and a Fulbright scholar. His research focuses on Korea, where he has spent much of his life.
Price: Current members: $30 Non-members $40
Shipping: $6.25
(Availability is limited.)
Product Details
Hardcover: 184 pages
Publisher: Seoul Selection (October 2009) Language: English
ISBN-10: 8991913592 ISBN-13: 9788991913592
Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.5 x 1.5 Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
Shown for the first time in the United States, the collection features a rare collection of locks, latches and key charms, from the Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910), beautifully designed metal and wood objects executed in myriad shapes.
Talismans of Protection from Choson Korea: Antique Locks, Latches and Key Charms
October 8, 2009-January 29, 2010
Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6:00 PM-8:30 PM
The Korea Society Gallery 950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor (Building entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th Street)
Free and open to the public
This exhibition features a rare collection of locks, latches and key charms, from the Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910). The items reveal the richly symbolic and exquisitely decorative dimensions of traditional Korean aesthetic and craft traditions. On loan from the Lock Museum in Seoul and shown for the first time in the United States, the collection includes beautifully designed metal and wood objects executed in myriad shapes: dragons, turtles, butterflies, fish, bats and swallows. Although these objects served functional purposes in everyday life, such as securing gates and protecting the contents of chests and other kinds of furniture, the beauty of their design underscores the primarily symbolic nature of the protection they afforded. Traditionally, Koreans believed that locks and latches fashioned in the shape of talismanic animals could invoke the power of these animals both to ensure the protection of their property and to bestow the blessings of wealth, health, fecundity and happiness. As an accompaniment to the locks and latches, key charms evolved from functional key holders into exquisitely decorated personal accessories passed from mothers to daughters as a symbol of the transfer of responsibility for ensuring the good management of household affairs.
The exhibition will be on view in New York City at two venues: The Korea Society (October 8, 2009-January 29, 2010) and Flushing Town Hall (October 10, 2009-January 31, 2010)
On loan from the Lock Museum in Seoul, and shown for the first time in the US. The exhibition was organized by The Korea Society and is co-presented with Flushing Town Hall.
May 19 - August 14, 2009 Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Opening Reception Tuesday, May 19, 2009 6:00 PM-8:30 PM
The Korea Society Gallery 950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor (Building entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th Street)
The arrival of the first Western missionaries in Korea in the late 19th century was a pivotal moment in the history of Christianity in Korea and the history of Korea as a whole. The missionaries established new religious identities and stoked early culture clashes. They also documented their mission and the society around them with early cameras. Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West Through Christianity—the largest ever show of Korean missionary photographs in the U.S.—features rare images taken by missionaries in Korea between 1890 and 1940.
Taken by both Protestant and Catholic missionaries, the photographs—on display along with unique supplementary objects such as an original photo album and New Year's calendars—offer a singular perspective on life in Korea during times of profound change. They illustrate the forging of contemporary institutions and values in the crucible of encounters with American Christian missionaries by Koreans.
The impact of early Western contact on Koreans is evident in the telltale signs of new cultural norms and new religious identities, and clues that these new ways were conflicting with long-held traditions. Less directly evident, but equally important, the images also allow the viewer to surmise how Koreans in turn had a formative impact on the missionaries, which led to intertwined personal histories that became a foundation for subsequent relations between Korea and the United States.
Drawn from four private collections and six academic archives, the images have been digitally restored and printed in a manner that retains, as far as possible, the archival quality of the images.
Purchase the 184-page hardcover exhibition catalog here.
January 29 - April 24, 2009 Opening Reception Thursday, January 29, 2009
The exquisite art of Korean wrapping cloths, known as pojagi, is featured in this exhibition of representative items drawn from eight private collections. With their distinctive geometric patchwork design,which often combines vivid colors, wrapping cloths have become one ofthe most widely recognized and appreciated of all traditional Korean textile arts. While often used for wrapping gifts, pojagi also were commonly employed in everyday life for carrying, covering and storing objects. Due to these multiple uses, pojagi were one of the most widespread items in Korean households of all social classes. Both in terms of design and function, pojagi demonstrate the ingenuity as well as the skillful needlework and refined design sensibilities of the anonymous women who created them over the centuries. To illustrate these distinctive features of the Korean textile tradition, the exhibition also includes examples of embroidered sewing boxes, pillow ends, spools and pouches.
Click Read More below to see pictures from the exhibit opening reception.
The Korea Society presents, for the first time ever in the United States, the art of North Korean woodblock printing. In an exhibition spanning the last three decades of North Korean artistry, North Korean Images at Utopia’s Edge features 24 prints from the Nicholas Bonner Collection. These prints offer a fascinating picture of North Korean conceptions of daily life and work, family and Fatherland. Four subject areas delineate the contours of North Korea’s vision of an earthly paradise: harmonious families, plenteous landscapes, male laborers and women at work.
Following its engagement at The Korea Society, North Korean Images at Utopia’s Edgewill be available for travel to colleges, universities, galleries, and non-profit institutions across America.
The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. (more...)
The Korea Society presents the print catalog for Missionary Photography in Korea: Encountering the West through Christianity, a 2009 exhibition of historical photographs taken by early Christian missionaries to Korea. 
Exhibition
Exhibition
Facebook
Twitter
