▲ Ppingichigi (estimated date: 1970s) Photo provided by Keunbada Yeong

The Photo Art Space Keunbada Yeong is holding an opening exhibition, “Yaideol, Ije Otteongdeul Saramsinggoye? (Hey Kids, How Are You Doing Now?): Ko Young-il Meets Jeju Children in the 1950-80s,” from April 20 to June 20 between noon and 6 pm.

The photo art space Keunbada Yeong is an exhibition hall established by his family to commemorate the Jeju-born photographer Ko Young-il. For the first exhibition, 43 photos of Jeju children were selected among the late artist’s photographs from the 1950s and 1980s. The title of the exhibition came from a note that Ko wrote on the back of a photo.

▲ Photographer Ko Young-il Photo provided by Keunbada Yeong

When his house burned down in 1978, Koh lost most of the films he had developed in the school’s darkroom while he was a teacher at Shinseong Girls’ High School in the 1950s. The photos that fortunately remained are shown at this exhibition.

Along with the children’s photos, four photos developed by the artist while preparing for the exhibition in 1980 and four photos that were exhibited in 1996 kept in their frames will be presented as well. Since the photos were developed by the photographer himself, viewers can get a glimpse of his intentions as an artist. You can also gain an insight into the atmosphere of photo exhibitions in the 1980-90s. It is particularly meaningful that the descriptions of exhibition photos are written by Ko Gwang-min, the author of Jeju Life History and a researcher on the life history of ordinary people.

▲ At Seogwi Port (1965) Photo provided by Keunbada Yeong

“Children posed for the camera in some of the exhibited photos, but there are also many pictures of them playing or doing something naturally in the sea and along the road. You can also see their innocent expressions,” explained Keunbada Yeong. They are exhibiting the photos of Jeju children from the 1950s and 1980s for the first time because the children would have now grown up and become adults in their 50s and 80s in Jeju, and they want to reunite with them. “We hope to meet those children, recall the memories of that time, and hear their course of life in Jeju, which has transformed drastically over the years,” said the organizers. By doing so, it will create more contemporary records of Jeju’s modern history.

▲ Rascals in Sasu-dong (1969) Photo provided by Keunbada Yeong

Furthermore, “At that time, Jeju’s mountains and sea served as both workplaces and playgrounds for the children. Kids hanging out and getting dirty outdoors together is something rare to find these days. We recommend the exhibition not only to those who have experienced such times growing up, but also to young people today whose lives are strictly separated between their homes and the outside world due to rapid changes.”

▲ At Seogwi Port (1965) Photo provided by Keunbada Yeong

Ko Gwang-min, a researcher of ordinary people’s life history, who wrote the introduction to the exhibition, said, “The photo art space Keunbada Yeong will discover, display, and study the photos of disappearing moments in Jeju Island. I bow in gratitude of the three generations of the Go Young-il family and applaud them again because these moments will no longer be disappearing thanks to their effort.”

Following Jeju children, Keunbada Yeong plans to continue exhibitions with various themes such as Jeju women and men.

Address: 2nd and 3rd floor, 11 Mandeok-ro, Jeju-si
Phone: 070-4246-5504