Moving Pictures: postcards of colonial Korea

Abstract

They seem like shards of flash-frozen reality compacted into two dimensions, putative proof of having been there and seen that. They move over various forms of distance and time, while carrying with them ephemeral yet precious moments or sights to be appreciated, and then possibly forgotten. Viewing postcards of colonial Korea as visual records, art objects, or propaganda has generated useful insights; at the same time, Hyung Gu Lynn suggests that postcards of colonial Korea encapsulate and embody the multiple notions of mobility that emerged in the early 20th century.