Paul Gould Schlessinger: Man with the Camera
Scenery and people of South Korea during the Korean War in 1952
Schlessinger holding a newspaper in his handsWar Memorial of Korea
Paul G. Schlessinger
Schlessinger was a photographer for the US Army. He first arrived in Korea as part of the UN Forces in February of 1952, at the height of the Korean War. Schlessinger was assigned to Daegu and whenever he had the time, he would go out to take photos of the scenes and people of Korea. He returned to base and developed the photographs and wrote down his thoughts on the back.
Schlessinger taking an outdoor pictureWar Memorial of Korea
Schlessinger's photos give hints about the scenery and people of South Korea during the Korean War.
Schlessinger and SookWar Memorial of Korea
Schlessinger was an American photographer visiting Korea for the first time, and so he received a lot of help from a typist working at the US base. Her name was Kim Myeong-sook.
Sook teaching Korean language to SchlessingerWar Memorial of Korea
Schlessinger was able to gain a better understanding of Korea through Myeong-sook.
A wedding photo of Schlessinger and SookWar Memorial of Korea
They soon fell in love and after the war, they went to America to start their family.
Schlessinger filming countryside sceneryWar Memorial of Korea
Schlessinger's photos, taken with the help of Myeong-sook, depict Koreans clinging to normal life despite being in the midst of war. Through these photos, we can get a glimpse of moments of Koreans trying to live normal lives during wartime 70 years ago.
Photo of Myung-sook and Schlessinger working together. Schlessinger's photos also include photos taken by others. But despite this, the records on the back of them were all written by Schlessinger. Here, Rybecky is the name of the person who took the photo.
(RYBECKY) They gave me a desk to write captions at.
We walked 20 yards past this woman, then came back to take her picture. She was working with such fervor that it was evident she had found and was happy with her place in life.
One bright afternoon Qip(SGT RYBECKY) and I set off to take pictures. There was washing being done at the river.
The local bakery. All five girls said for me to take their pictures, but only one was brave enough to stand in front of the camera.
We peered over a wall and found a farmer at work.
Selling lemonade or orangeade. The block of ice for chipping is in front.
Busan; marketplace of Korea because it has had the most active port for the past few years.
A street scene shot from a jeep. Only in such "grab" shots do you see the Koreans as we do everyday. Unfortunately it is difficult to obtain a technically good picture this way.
This is a mother carrying a child in a blanket purchasing rice. There are several sauries on the upper-left hand tied together. It appears that the gongchi here refers to saury (ggongchi).
A lady buying rice. The Christmas tree ornaments in upper left are fish tied together with strings. I have been having trouble finding the American name for these fish. The Korean name is 공치.
The owner takes a few running steps forward and releases the plane. It shoots into the air like a rocket.
Child holding flowersWar Memorial of Korea
Schlessinger's photos have value as photo records containing scenes of Korea during the Korean War. It also reminds viewers during the COVID-19 pandemic of the normal times back in the 1950s when they did not have to wear masks to cover their faces. We hope that looking at these photo records can serve as an opportunity for us to think about the unchanging values no matter the circumstance.
* Rights to all data used in this story are reserved by the War Memorial of Korea.
Planning/Editing: Kang Jung-min
Host: Jung Seo-hee
The War Memorial of Korea is a comprehensive museum on war and military history that collects, preserves, manages, and services various materials related to the history of the war in the Korean Peninsula. The War Memorial of Korea's Open Archive is offered to share historical resources with citizens. Check out more archive materials of the War Memorial at the Open Archive.
