Lost North Korean Photos Come to Light

The National Archives and Records Service (NARS) has found about 1,000 minutes worth of film (about 16.7 hours) and 650 photos containing images related to North Korea after Korean independence from Japan in Russia. As they include historically significant moments, such as the truce agreement between the North and the South in 1953, some of them are already well-known to Koreans. But many of the materials are still new, according to the NARS. The recently released materials by the NARS are film clips of a total of 40-minute playing time and about 20 photos.

Some of the films and photos show Korean people who were ardently welcoming Russian soldiers that were marching into the North, with the Taegukgi in one hand and the Russian flag in the other in 1945. This historical moment was already mentioned in many documents, but an image containing the scene has not been found so far, said Kee Kwang-seo, professor of the department of politics and diplomacy at Chosun University.

The clips also have scenes of partisans--irregulars that fought for the North during the Korean War--marching into Seoul in October 1950. The image is relatively new given the fact that the partisans operated mainly near Mt. Jiri and Odae until just prior to the War.

“These materials show the relationship between Korea and the USSR was good at that time,” said Professor Kee, “They have a limitation in that they only have publicly adaptable images. Still, these images have a great meaning in themselves since they contain significant historical facts that are difficult to be found in documents.”

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com