작업 소개

이 컬렉션은 ‘아시아의 사진’ 아카이빙 프로젝트의 한국에 관한 자료 컬렉션 중 하나이다. 이 프로젝트는 한국의 원로 사진가들의 생애사에 대한 구술을 기록하는 것으로, 이를 통해 한국 사진사의 부족한 서술을 보충하고자 하였다. 사진 활동의 중심이 되었던 서울 지역 주류 사진계의 주요 인물들에 대해서는 상당수가 정리되고 있는 반면, 사진계에 충분한 자료를 남기지 못했거나, 서울 이외의 지역 사진가들은 상대적으로 여력이 미치지 못하고 있는 현실에 주목하였다. 따라서 예술사진 영역이 아닌, 실용적 영역에서 활동했거나, 지역에서 활동한 사진작가들을 적극적으로 포괄하였다.

정정회 구술사
Oral history Cheung Jung Hoi

강봉규 구술사
Oral history Kang Bong-gyu

김한용 구술사
Oral history Kim Han yong

임정의 구술사
Oral history Lim Chung-eui

‘아시아의 사진’은 사진을 통해 아시아 각국의 근현대사를 조망하는 컬렉션으로 아시아 사회, 정치 및 문화를 기록한 4명의 사진들과 사진가들의 구술 채록 자료들로 구성되어 있다. 사진은 아시아가 근현대를 거쳐 오면서 사회와 문화를 기록해 온, 전통적으로 가장 중요한 매체였다. 수십 년 전의 도시 공간, 건물, 공장, 광고사진, 보도사진은 이제 사실성을 전달하는 임무에서 벗어나 당시 문화와 역사를 기록한 시대상의 보고로 인식되고 있다. 수집된 컬렉션은 일제강점기, 해방, 한국전쟁 등 근대의 격변을 담고 있는 중요한 자원이 될 것이다. 또한 원로 사진가들의 생애사 구술 채록 영상은 생생한 증언을 통해 사진 기록의 서사적 공백을 보완해 줄 것이다. 향후 대만, 중국, 일본, 인도네시아 등 아시아 전역으로 수집 범위를 확장하여 아시아 문화 연구의 중요한 자원으로 활용될 것이다.

출처 : 국립아시아문화전당 ‘아시아 문화예술 전문 주제 아카이브 전시’’ 中 ‘아시아의 사진’ 전시 소개글

(Lim Chung-eui)
I was born on June 14, 1944. My original birthplace is 1166 Heukrok-dong, Galsan-myeon, Jungju-gun, North Pyongan Province in North Korea. My father was a photographer. He had been preparingto move to Seoul until I was three or four months old. My father was a photographer. He had been preparingto move to Seoul until I was three or four months old. So, I was one-year-old when my father opened Hanmi Camera Shop in Samgakji in Seoul. I was taken to Seoul. I don’t remember anything. My home was in 38 Gahoe-dong. My parents bought a thatched-roof house. They worked in Samgakji. I don’t remember well that I lived there until I was five or six.

The shop was hit by a bomb from the sky during the war. After that, my parents developed films at our home. When we had many film rolls to develop, we worked overnight. I helped my father washing the film strips and prints. Water was running short then, so I went to a stream to wash them.

I saw that I would need flowing water. I naturally understood it. I was an elementary school student then. We developed films in the night since it was not possible during the day. So I worked on films during the night, took some sleep, and went to the school in the morning. Then I felt a bit sleepy. So I’ve been living like this since I was young.

(Jung juha)
Don’t you think that your father really trusted you enough to give all those films to develop by yourself?

(Lim Chung-eui)
More than that, I just had to do it. It was like a twist of fate. I was helping my mother. I was not by myself. I did it from time to time, by chance.

(Jung juha)
Your father came to the South in 1944. However, he made a significant contribution to the photography scene. And he left many records. How was it possible?

(Lim Chung-eui)
He entered the Military Academy in 1948. He was appointed as an officer in 1949 before the Korean War broke out. The academy wanted to facilitate a group of elites. My father was asked to make records and took photos. On the day when the war broke out, we were in our home. My father was a second lieutenant.

An emergency messenger came to tell the news. There was an emergency call for the army. A lieutenant colonel Kim Kyung-soo, a then manager of public relations, told my father to cover the situation with journalists. He went to Munsan, riding a military truck. He recorded the line of refugees, standing on a floating bridge. The footbridge was blown up first. The iron bridge was hit by a bomb to stop people going to South. My father had to walk on the floating bridge but he made many photos there. He had to use analog films then. He carried his camera around. What he had to do first when he went to other cities was to arrange a photo studio. What he had to do first when he went to other cities was to arrange a photo studio. It’s because he had to develop the films. Then he created a small print of photos. Those prints were used for different purposes such as creating a newsrelease. I still have the photo album from Fall 1950. It is with all those captions I think my father did a great job in creating such records.

(Jung Juha)
But you studied business management in the university. What made you learn management?

(Lim Chung-eui)
My father didn’t allow me to study photography. He wanted me to become a businessman. He thought photography did not have any vision. His experience told him that the situation in Korea was hopeless. He tried to do different things with photography. But he didn’t want his son to follow a similar career. Your first workplace was the reporting department of the Korean Broadcasting System. They told me that the reporting department needed a camera operator. Not of a still camera but of a movie camera. But there was no one who could operate the camera. I was working for the Army Film Studio then. It was in Pil-dong. Then I thought KBS would be a better working place. KBS had a different atmosphere. Anyway, I got a job of a camera man there.

(Jung Juha)
But why did you get your job not as a camera man but as a reporter?

(Lim Chung-eui)
I worked on moving images at the military film studio. I had to work on still images while working on moving images, too. I always carried my Leica 3F for moving images. I always liked to leave records when I visited different places. I often carry an Ikonta camera with 6 by 9 film and a Leica 3F lens. I often carry an Ikonta camera with 6 by 9 film and a Leica 3F lens. The moving images leave nothing behind. A still image can capture things in an exact manner.

(Jung juha)
You moved from the KBS to Korea Herald in 1973. You experienced a variety of societal changes while you were working at the Korea Herald. You also witnessed the assassination of the first lady in 1974.

(Lim Chung-eui)
It happened on the 15th of August at the National Theater. A day before, an order came from the higher-ups. The government sent a list of invited people. We had to confirm everything beforehand. I went there on the day. But you don’t usually take many photos for official events. I went there on the day. But you don’t usually take many photos for official events. I came out from the auditorium, then I heard the sound of a gun.

(Jung juha)
You were at the lobby when it happened. Yes. The sound came from inside.

(Lim Chung-eui)
I later covered the funeral of the first lady. I later covered the funeral of the first lady. Everything needed to have background and reason. There was a need for when, where, who, what, how, and why. My father’s photos carry time and place. It’s different from photos by others. Usually, it’s difficult to read them in photos. It’s usually difficult to see the location in photos. The background of photos is not captured well. The same applies to the photos of people. I must have been influenced by my father.

(Jung juha)
You quit the Korea Herald afterward. When did you quit your job?

(Lim Chung-eui)
I quit in the spring of 1975.

(Jung juha)
Why did you quit?

(Lim Chung-eui)
A close friend in the newspaper was a reporter for cultural events. A close friend in the newspaper was a reporter for cultural events. I was particularly close to Han Dae-soo. He studied in the U.S., so spoke a good English. He was caught by the police for being a hippie in the airport on his way back to Korea. He might be the first hippie in the country. He is now a singer. He was organizing a project for the 30th anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japan. The opening was on August 15, 1975. I didn’t know about the venue, which was SPACE. I was mentioned since April. So I went to SPACE building, built with black bricks. I had no idea about what SPACE was doing. I thought about my participation for a month. The building was so fabulous. But I would need to produce about 10,000 images. There were five sections for those images. My salary at the newspaper was around 55,000 and 66,000 Korean Won. The major newspaper companies paid around 50,000 Korean Won then.

So I suggested 150,000 Korea Won for the project, which was two to three times bigger than my salary. But the manager at the top level was paid 120,000 Korean Won at the time. They suggested 100,000 Korean Won since I was a new face. I couldn’t go home at night every two days for the next three months. At first, I was asked to shoot an image of the SPACE Theater. Then I had to take a photo of a Changamjang Residence. It is similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ building. The building is on a rock, and there is a stream. They told my architectural photography was good. They said, “It’s good.” Then, I was suggested to pursue architectural photography. I was not sure whether it would make any money, but I did since someone had to do it.

Murai Osamu, a famous Japanese architect, was also invited to the project. I couldn’t take photos with him, so I marked on the floor plan and did the shooting later. I showed him my photos when he visited Korea afterward. He was surprised then. He was surprised to see my development. Then he recognized me as a good photographer. He encouraged me a lot. We had many conversations.

My office was in 58-1, Chungmuro 3-ga. I told the others that I was doing architectural photography. I was known in the scene then. And I didn’t want to put my name at the front. I thought I was not that good. So, I decided to put change the name. ChungAM was the new name. Studio ChungAM. It’s my father’s pen name. It was to show my will to continue my father’s legacy. I started working on the overseas construction projects by the Daewoo Corporation. There was a boom in the Middle East between 1978 and 1980.

The company built a presidential reception house in Sudan. Daewoo also did many projects in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. This time it was for Sudan. I did it for the presidential residence as well. The photos by a person hired by Daewoo were all rejected at first. The architect didn’t like them. So I was commissioned once again. The architect didn’t like them. So I was commissioned once again. I was appreciated by the architect since I understood his thoughts and take photos. Photography played a significant role in presenting ideas about buildings.

The construction companies were my main clients. Another project was the proposals for an administrational capital city. The president ordered 30 construction companies to submit proposals. I did photos for Joung Sung Kimm at the start. But then, he mentioned me in a big meeting. Then, the head of the economic affairs made an order after establishing an organizing committee. Then, the head of the economic affairs made an order after establishing an organizing committee. I did photography for all the 30 proposals. I was really busy. I did photography for all the 30 proposals. I was really busy. Between the late 1960s and the early 1980s was the height of architectural competitions. Between the late 1960s and the early 1980s was the height of architectural competitions. The Korean government had to produce a report of the Asian Games. The Olympic Committee wanted to see photographic images of facilities in the country. I took photos of all the sports facilities in the city of Seoul. The images were taken to Baden-baden.

(Jung juha)
Which year was it?

(Lim Chung-eui)
It should be in the early 1980s. You can check it in the news. The committee liked what they saw. Seoul was recognized after that. Many redevelopment projects were done. Old buildings were demolished for the new ones. There were a lot of architectural competitions. I’m sorry to say this, but I refused to work for dirty players. I just told them to work with another photographer. “”I’m not working only for money.” “There should be an equal exchange.””

(Jung juha)
Was there any particular skill needed for models submitted to architectural competitions?

(Lim Chung-eui)
It’s not about a particular skill but how to express the architects’ thoughts. For that, you would need to talk with the architects a lot. If you understand what they want, there is a basic rule in architecture. Architects create plans and perspective drawings. You just have to apply it in photography. People use many lightings for this kind of photography, but I use only one main lighting.

There is only one Sun in the sky. There should be shades. Light and shade should be separated, and I saw many photographers not separating them. Their photos are as flat as they are colorful. But my photos always have a strong contrast. It might be possible to reduce the shade by using some lighting. It might be possible to reduce the shade by using some lighting. But I rather prefer a strong contrast. Some people don’t like my photos.

I visited the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at the Seoul National University in the early 1980s. I showed my photos. They liked it. Then I was asked to work with them. They were doing a commissioned research on the types of residence among low-income households. So I started working with them. Some graduate students assisted me. Bongcheon-dong, Nangok-dong, Geumho-dong, Sindang-dong, and Junglim-dong. I took photos of all of them. I took a lot of photos. And they were really good. There should be a book with those photos.

The redevelopment was part of the eventual change. The residents were living through difficulties. I also experienced difficulties when I lived in Geumho-dong in the 1960s. But it’s a really tough environment. And it was impossible to imagine the resident would move to other places. It was cruel from their perspective, but I had to leave the record since they were to be eradicated. I left photos as a way of keeping them.

I also took photos of the Japanese General Government Building in Seoul, which was a landmark from the modern period. I had been recording the building since I saw my father’s photos. I had been recording the building since I saw my father’s photos. I visited the palace once or twice a year. I felt sorry to hear about the demolition of the building, which was done with a political background. I recorded the process of demolition as well. Since the 1980s, I have been recording distant views of planned redevelopment sites and new buildings. Places like makeshift houses and printing shop alley, which are all changed into big buildings. They will also be gone some day. So I take photos first. I take so many photos of Chunggye-cheon and Eulji-ro. There’s no time for organizing the photos, though.

The commercial buildings are all related in a sense, but we have to understand the need to study architecture. People consider photography as a kind of art on a flat surface, which employs light. Photography represents a three-dimensional space on a flat plane. But architecture is about space. It is about how to interpret a space and the flow of movement. Commercial photography uses artificial lightings a lot. I don’t think the way it should be. I use as much natural lighting as possible. I rarely use any artificial lighting. I think that one should not learn the technique of photography. One has to have a perspective. One should not become a person with unseeing eyes. It’s all about relations between different things. Humans cannot do anything by themselves. I tell my students that not all of them should to the same job. Some have to do politics, others should run companies. There should be diversity. Keeping the balance is important. Some pursue photography. I tell them, “Don’t do photography.” “””It’s a difficult job.”” But some insist doing it.” Three or four are doing really well now.

(Jung juha)
In the field of architectural photography?

(Lim Chung-eui)
Yes. They have exhibitions. They also sell very well. I appreciate them. But I want to help them. establish good relations. I still don’t fit the society. So I want to help them in that respect.