Stunning photographs have emerged showing a forgotten time when Korea was unified and people were free to live in peace – without the threat of nuclear war.
Images show girls smoking and gambling, happy children eating in a street café and young couples getting married long before millions suffered under the Kim dynasty’s brutal dictatorship.
Taken between 1890 and 1910 long before the Korean War tore a nation apart, the people of the north and south can be seen living together in harmony.
Today, the entire peninsula remains on the brink of nuclear disaster with North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un continues to trade threats with the US.
Stunning photographs have emerged showing a forgotten time when Korea was unified and people were free to live in peace without the threat of nuclear war. This image shows guests with face paint attending a wedding in Seoul, the capital of what is now South Korea, in about 1900
Prayers: Koreans are pictured gathering to worship the Sindo gods in front of wooden statues by a roadside in Seoul, in about 1900
Taken between 1890 and 1910 before the Korean War tore a nation apart, the people of the north and south can be seen living together in harmony. This image shows a school in Seoul, Korea in 1903. The three boys in the back wearing hats are married
Taking flight: A young woman flies through the air as she plays the dangerous see-saw game of Neolttwigi with a friend between 1900 and 1905 at an unknown location in Korea
Images show people going about their everyday lives long before millions suffered under the Kim dynasty’s brutal dictatorship. In this picture, a Korean woman wears a large basket, thought to be an odd fashion trend, down a busy street in Pyongyang, which is now the capital of the secretive state of North Korea
The pictures were taken by visiting foreigners show Korean girls smoking and gambling, happy children eating in a street café and young couples getting married.
Korea’s rich past culture is shown in photos of people posing in traditional costumes and praying to their gods.
But the free and united Korean Empire that can be seen in these images only existed for a short time.
The pictures were taken by visiting foreigners at the turn of the century and show both the north and south of Korea. This photo showed a man in traditional clothes in Pyongyang – now the capital of North Korea – in 1910
Korea’s rich past culture is shown in photos of people posing in traditional costumes. This photo, captured in about 1904, shows a street scene in Seoul in what is now South Korea
Pyongyang is now the secretive capital city of North Korea, under the dictatorship of tyrant Kim Jong-un. But this photo, taken in the city’s Taedongmun Street in about 1910 shows people happily going about their daily lives
Two men work on their barley in Incheon, in modern-day South Korea, in 1903 by tossing it through the air to remove the chaff
For a brief period beginning in 1897, Korea was an independent nation. The Korean people had gained their freedom from Russian rule, formed their own empire, and finally won the opportunity to develop and revel in their own culture.
But not long after Korea had won its freedom, the Japanese swept in and took it away. By 1905, Korea was a protectorate of Japan and by 1910, they were completely annexed by Japan.
Japanese rule was harsh and Korea underwent drastic changes during this time. Their Emperor – Sujong of Korea – and currency were abolished and Koreans were forced to speak Japanese.
By 1905, Korea was a protectorate of Japan and by 1910, they were completely annexed by Japan. This photo shows a main street in Pyongyang in 1915
Pageant: A Korean drum and bugle corps escorts the Grand-Master of the Emperor’s royal stables through Seoul’s main street in 1903
Men work together to harden the ground to form the foundation for a new Post Office in Seoul, 1903. In the background is the French embassy building. At this point, Korea was still an independent nation
The Korean people had gained their freedom from Russian rule, formed their own empire, and finally won the opportunity to develop and revel in their own culture. Two women are shown displaying basket fashion accessories in Seoul in 1904
A Chicken Seller carries his goods through the streets of Seoul, Korea, in about 1900. The pictures were taken long before the north and south of the country were divided
The photos show people relaxing and going about their lives in Seoul. Men and women are pictured above at a restaurant in Seoul, Korea in about 1900
The country remained under their rule until the end of the Second World War in 1945 when the allied armies defeated the Japanese. With this victory, it seemed, for a brief moment like there would be a free and united Korea once more.
However Korea was then divided into two zones by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the north occupied by the Soviets.
An invasion by North Korea led to the Korean War of 1950. There was a ceasefire in 1953, but no peace treaty was signed and the country remained divided.
Young friends gather to smoke and gamble together at an unknown location in Korea in 1900. Korea was eventually divided into two zones by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the north occupied by the Soviets
This was the scene in Pyongyang, in about 1915. Today, the city’s beleaguered residents lives under the brutal dictatorship of Kim Jong-un
Kisaeng girls and their bearer boys are pictured in an unknown location in Korea, in about 1900. Korean Kisaeng girls were entertainers and courtesans who sometimes provided sexual services
Dinner time: Residents sit down on the ground as they gather for a meal at a restaurant in Seoul, Korea in about 1900
Skilled hands: A bean grinder tends to his job in Seoul, in what is now South Korea, in the year 1899. For a brief period beginning in 1897, Korea was an independent nation and its people lived in peace
Children are pictured clambering up the side of a city wall and looking out over Seoul in about 1904. Today the city’s skyline is filled with skyscrapers