An early pioneer of fashion photography in South Korea, Han Youngsoo is recognised for his photographs of 1950s and 60s Seoul that capture the city in the midst of rapid change and economic growth.
Read MoreHan's black and white photographs record postwar Seoul, and its transition to a modern urban city. Han's works encompass subjects including children, students, consumers, shopkeepers, and passersby, absorbed in their respective activities.
Han's photographs are striking for their depictions of vitality of life in postwar Seoul, a period that is often remembered for its devastation and poverty. However the artist also saw it as a time of rebirth and transformation, which he recorded in his work.
People in Han's photographs are in motion as well as stationary, engaging the various activities that make up ordinary life. Two women walk arm in arm in one photograph, each carrying a parcel in their other arm; in another, a young man with a fedora sits by a book stall as a woman smokes beside him. A well-known photograph taken at the Han River shows a young girl bending over a baby in a basket, her body creating dramatic diagonals with the lines of the umbrella that she holds in her hands.
Often photographing outdoors, Han captured Seoul as a changing city. One image depicts a woman as she emerges from between a shop and a bus. Chinese characters can be seen on store signs, a feature that is now a rarity in Korea.
Han was actively involved with the fashion and advertising photography scene in South Korea, and opened a photo studio in 1966. The Han Youngsoo Foundation, posthumously established by the artist's daughter Han Sunjung, preserves and promotes Han's work.
While little known outside of South Korea in his lifetime, Han's work has gathered increasing international recognition in recent decades. In 2017, the solo exhibition Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Korea, 1956–1963 was co-organised by the International Center of Photography at Mana Contemporary in New Jersey, and the Waterfall Mansion & Gallery, New York.
In 2021, the Han Youngsoo Foundation collaborated with the camera brand Leica to present the solo exhibition Unknown City. In the same year, the foundation worked with Gallery R yugaheon and Inoue Koji Gallery to curate The Times They Were, a two-person exhibition of work by Han and the Japanese postwar photographer Inoue Koji.
Han Youngsoo exhibited primarily in South Korea during his lifetime. Since the artist's death in 1999, his work has been exhibited more internationally in solo and group presentations.
Select solo exhibitions include Once Upon a Time, GALLERY2, Jeju Island (2022); Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Korea, 1956–1963, Baik Art, Los Angeles (2018); International Center of Photography at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City (2017).
Select group exhibitions include The Times They Were, Gallery Ryugaheon, Seoul (2021); FIVE, Baik Art, Los Angeles (2019); Les Rencontres d'Arles, Arles (2014).
Sherry Paik | Ocula | 2022
