İzzet Keribar’s photographs of Korea go on show in Seoul
More than 50 photographs made by İzzet Keribar during his service in Korea are on display at Seoul’s War Memorial of Korea. The exhibition opened on 3 November, bringing scenes of streets, a railway station, a port and schoolchildren from the 1950s to the museum. Keribar guided the Turkish and South Korean leaders’ spouses through the images.
Arts··Evening
Keribar’s Korean photographs reach Seoul
An exhibition of Turkish photographer İzzet Keribar’s Korean images opened on 3 November at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul, South Korea.[1], [2]
Titled The Birth of Friendship: Korea Through the Lens of a Turkish Photographer 70 Years Ago, it contains more than 50 photographs. Keribar made them in 1956–1957 while serving as an interpreter with the Turkish Brigade in Korea. The Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate and the War Memorial jointly organised the exhibition.[1]
Streets, a port and a school fill the images
The photographs depict everyday life and streets in Korea during the 1950s. They include Old Seoul Station and Surrounding Scenery, A Ship Unloading Cargo in Incheon and Village Scenes Near the Brigade. Another image shows Prayer Before Meals at the Suwon Ankara School. Keribar guided visitors through the exhibition after the opening and recounted memories of his service while explaining the photographs.[1]
The leaders’ spouses visit with the photographer
Emine Erdoğan, wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Kim Hye-kyung, wife of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, attended the opening. Kim thanked Keribar for preserving the photographs. She highlighted an image of Turkish soldiers reaching from a train towards a Korean boy, while saying it was unknown whether their hands touched. Emine Erdoğan expressed hope for further cultural exchanges between the countries.[1]
