“Formerly, many Koryo (Goryeo) people were ashamed of their own ethnic identity. But my comrades and I were struggled with the fate and achieved our own lands and rights. It was a highly significant period for Koryo people.”
This quote at the entrance of the exhibition “Korean Diaspora” at the National Folk Museum of Korea in Seoul’s Jongno-gu District is from Korean Uzbek photographer Viktor An. The term “Koreytsy” is Russian for Goryeoin, or ethnic Korean residents of Central Asia.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Korea’s ties with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the exhibition features An’s photos taken over his long career. Running through Nov. 7, the event also features 60 of the 352 photos he donated showing the daily lives of Goryeoin.
Born in 1947 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, An in 1978 began working as a photojournalist for the Korean-language newspaper Lenin Gichi (now Goryeo Daily) and spent 40 years capturing the lives and history of Goryeoin. Before becoming a photographer, he worked as an ironworker, radio engineer and projectionist.
Korea.net conducted a written interview with the Uzbekistan-based photographer on the exhibition and his pictures of Goryeoin.
– For your exhibition that marks the 30th anniversary of Korea’s ties with Uzbekistan, why did you donate 352 pictures to the National Folk Museum of Korea?
Many exhibitions on Korea and Central Asian countries have been held over the past 30 years, but Korea has had none about Goryeoin in the Commonwealth of Independent States (group of former republics of the Soviet Union formed in 1991). This was the biggest reason to host this exhibition. Media Saram, a cooperative founded by Goryeoin living in Korea, also helped in the event’s hosting.
– How has the response to the exhibition been?
The exhibition surprised me several times. Certain visitors recognized their relatives in pictures taken decades to 40 years ago. They were so pleased that they came to me to thank me. Meeting people in Korea who appeared in my pictures from long ago was unbelievable. If you’re a photographer, the moment when you meet the main character in your work decades later and receive thanks is the happiest and most precious in your life.
– How did you become a photographer and why did you focus on Goryeoin?
It happened by accident. Lenin Gichi (Goryeo Daily), a Korean-language newspaper in the Soviet Union, opened a branch in Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent in 1978. My friends suggested that I work with them and that’s how I got started in photography. From the mid-1980s, I started to paving my own path in photography. I realized at the time that nobody apart from me would take photos of Goryeoin. So that’s how everything related to such people and Korea brought great meaning to my life.
– What was the atmosphere in the Soviet Union like when you started photography? What drove you to persevere in tough times and continue snapping photos?
Through the mid-1970s, the Soviet Union only officially offered photojournalism (as a major). From late in the decade, however, more fields in photography started to gain recognition but professional knowledge and information on the field remained extremely limited. I chose photography as my profession because among the many things I tried, I saw no end to learning and the learning process was fun.
– What kind of photos did you usually take while working for Lenin Gichi (Goryeo Daily)?
The newspaper’s name was “Lenin Gichi” from 1978-81. Back then, strict regulations meant only assigned photos were allowed. After the paper in 1991 changed its name to “Goryeo Daily,” many changes occurred in atmosphere and policy. Articles were written not only in Hangeul but also in Russian and censorship was completely lifted. So while working for the paper from 1991 to 2003, I could take pictures of everything I wanted to.
– What kind of pictures do you take when visiting Korea?
Whenever I visited Korea, I took pictures. Most of them were taken at tourist sites. But I saw the real Korea after leaving Seoul and living in rural areas. I remember seeing a foggy dawn, sleeping in a cold haystack and wandering around family cemeteries in the dark. At the time, I felt the real beauty of Korea and these were my fondest memories when I was there.
– Korea is the motherland of Goryeoin and home of their ancestors. Did you want to live in Korea?
From 1999 to 2000, I lived in Seoul and Guri, Gyeonggi-do Province, for six months. Back then, I realized that I had to be in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The reason was simple. Who else would take the photos of Goryeoin if not me?
Exhibition “Korean Diaspora” features resilient Goryeoin
In earlier days, most Goryeoin living in Central Asia after 1890 were independence activists and merchants who moved to Primorsky Krai, Russia, to avoid persecution from the Japanese empire. In the 1900s, their number surged to the point where 20% of Primorsky Krai residents were Goryeoin. Russia urged their naturalization, and in 1937, the Soviet Union forced 180,000 of them to move to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
These people call themselves Goryeosaram (Goryeo people) instead of the Russian term “Koreytsy” to recognize their special community and distinguish Koreans from those living in Primorsky Krai and those living in the faraway motherland.
Despite experiencing perilous immigration several times and moving to different lands, Goryeoin overcame their hardships and maintained Korean traditions and customs. The exhibition “Korean Diaspora” is a visual record of these resilient people.
The exhibition has nine sections based on keywords Koreans are familiar with including “life rituals,” “seasons,” “food” and “residence” to introduce the lives and culture of Goryeoin. The photos present the coexistence of the familiar and unfamiliar because Goryeoin culture was heavily influenced by Korean culture as well as those of Russia and Central Asian countries.
Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism