Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Korea, 1956-1963

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see the work of acclaimed South Korean photographer Han Youngsoo, as this is only the second time his images have been shown in Los Angeles.

This is also the first exhibition to showcase Han’s vintage prints, which have never before traveled outside of Korea.

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 the ensuing years, Han captured the city and its surroundings with a keen 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.

Han’s bold black & white images portray the influence of European and American photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Marc Riboud, David Seymour (“Chim”), Robert Frank, and Helen Levitt, offering a fascinating window into post-war South Korea and the everyday lives of its ordinary men, women, and children.

Opening September 2018, Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Korea, 1956-1963 consists of two parts. A selection of Han’s most iconic images can be seen in Baik Art’s second space at 2632 S. La Cienega Boulevard. They were created posthumously, after Han had achieved critical success as a commercial photographer and have been printed from the original negatives under the supervision of the Han Youngsoo Foundation in Seoul, by photographer’s daughter Han Sunjung. Additionally, Han’s small never-before-seen vintage photographs, will be on view at Baik Art’s main gallery at 2600 S. La Cienega Boulevard. We are indebted to Ms. Han’s pioneering work and acknowledge the Foundation’s vital contribution to this exhibition.