HAN YOUNGSOO
ABOUT
A successful commercial image-maker in his later years, Han Youngsoo (1933-1999) began his work in photography after he returned to Seoul from the frontlines of the Korean War (1950-1953). The city, like the rest of the country, was devastated and impoverished. “After the war, still covered with the soot of tragedy, I found myself in the middle of civic confusion,” Han later observed. “I was startled to find, however, the great determination of the human spirit to carry on with life—in a sense something simple and natural, but also … very profound.” In the ensuing years, Han captured the city and its surroundings with a passionate eye for form and narrative detail, documenting both its ancient ways of life and its dramatic transformation from war-torn metropolis to a prosperous modern society.
EXHIBITIONS
FIVE | June 22 – August 10, 2019 | press release | catalogue
HAN YOUNGSOO: PHOTOGRAPHS OF KOREA, 1956 – 1963 | Han Youngsoo | Sep. 22 – Nov. 21, 2018 | press release | catalogue
HAN YOUNGSOO Photographs of Korea, 1956 – 1963, Korea Institute, Harvard University | Han youngsoo | November 1 – December 31, 2019 | Press Release
PRESS
2020, “‘After the War’ – Stunning Photos of South Korea 1956-1963 by Han Youngsoo”, Flashback
2019, “Rare Scenes of a Rebuilding Seoul After the Korean War,” Saigoneer
2018, “Han Youngsoo,” Artforum
2018, “Photographing the Shadow of Korea’s Past,” Ginkgo Journal
2017, “A Photographer’s Images of a Changing Seoul After the Korean War,” Hyperallergic
2017, “Korean Photographer Han Youngsoo Exposes Seoul After War,” Art Centron
2017, “A Poetic Reminder of What Korea Used to be Like,” Featureshoot
MEDIA
ADDITIONAL CONTENT
BLOG | Artist Spotlight: Han Youngsoo