Contemporary history told through voices of ordinary people

By Chung Ah-young

Park Young-ja used to sell the national flags of different countries in front of Deoksu Palace in Seoul when she was aged just 13 back in the year 1951. John Rich, a renowned American war correspondent, took a photo of her one day and gave it to her. Park who turns 77 this year has kept the old photo for the last 64 years.

“When the flags were laid in a room, I felt as if I were at the center of the world,” Park recalled.

The old photo is not only her personal history but also part of the nation’s contemporary history.

From street vendors to singers, their lives have contributed to rebuilding the nation in one way or another.

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History is holding an exhibition titled “70 Voices of 70 Years,” which looks back on Korea’s contemporary history through many people’s life stories through Sept. 29.

“To mark the 70th anniversary of the nation’s liberation from Japanese colonial occupation, the exhibition is intended to follow the history of Korea. We think that ordinary Koreans are our heroes for making contemporary history with the democratization of the country and its economic development,” Kim Wang-sik, director of the museum, said.

He said that such ordinary people should be honored and remembered through this exhibition. “We hope that visitors will remember our people’s efforts to rebuild the nation over the last 70 years. We hope this remembrance will integrate people and raise historical awareness,” Kim said.

The exhibition consists of 70 individual stories through interview videos, photos and their personal belongings.

Not long after the nation was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, Koreans had to go through another tragedy, the Korea War (1950-53).

The first part themed “Ships Returning to Korea and Refugee Trains” focuses on the lives of ordinary people after liberation and their experience of war from 1945 to the 1950s. In the 1950s, Hwang In-deok, born in 1939, became a shoeshine boy to support his family. An old shoe brush box was a treasure trove for Hwang in difficult times. “I polished shoes on the street in the middle of the Korea War. Back then, not only adults but also kids were driven to the street to sell goods or polish shoes to earn a living. I was one of them because I had to support my brothers,” he said. “I felt shame for holding a shoe brush box but now I think it had special meaning in my life,” he said.

The second part of the exhibition themed “At Workplaces and Streets” shows the people’s lives from the 1950s to the 1990s when the rapid economic development and social change occurred. This part focuses on women’s lives devoted to raising children and other individuals who contributed to economic development. The sewing machine and an old-fashioned television were the main items for women to support their families.

Born in 1947, Kim Mal-ryeon sold pots to make a living at the market. A 40-year-old pot is still her No.1 “family treasure.”

Kim Geum-ja’s sewing machine was her main tool for making a living. She made children’s clothes and sold them.

The third part of the exhibition, “Way of Life: Koreans in the 21st century” reveals the lives of people who lived from the 1990s to the present. People from this period suffered the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and witnessed the mass development of information technology.