These rare color photographs capture life in South Korea as it began to rebuild after the Korean War
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.: Due to her family’s proximity to the government, Yoo often had unparalleled access to elite events and locations, where she was able to capture images like this one of then Korean president Syngman Rhee and First Lady Franziska Donner.Yoo, now 85, had taken the photographs during a 1956-57 sojourn in Seoul when she was just 20 years old.
Yoo’s unique position as a young, well-connected foreigner gave her license to roam freely and photograph a wide assortment of scenes—without perhaps the more watchful, restrictive gaze that might have followed a local photographer, especially a female one, she said. Wandering through Seoul’s chaotic Namdaemun market, Yoo found vendors selling fabrics, produce, and dry noodles.
Yoo later married and spent much of her life as a homemaker. As time passed, she forgot about the slides, which were not intended to serve as anything more than travel photographs.