‘Around 1969 Yeongcheon Shindeok-ri Nonsseorejil’ … Andong City, Old Photo Contest Grand Prize

At the ‘2023 Old Photo Contest’ conducted by Andong City and the Gyeongbuk Records Culture Research Institute, Lee Byeong-eon’s entry titled ‘Circa 1969 Nonsseorejil in Shindeok-ri, Yeongcheon’ won the grand prize.

'1969 Yeongcheon Sindeok-ri Rice Field Plowing' by Byeong-eon Lee, which won the grand prize.

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Started in 2017, the ‘Hwayangyeonhwa’ contest, now in its 7th year, was held from March 24 to July 6, receiving over 400 old photographs.

The submissions had to be photos taken before 1999, regardless of black-and-white or color, depicting local architecture, landscapes, streets, and daily life. Among them, one grand prize (1,000,000 KRW), one gold prize (500,000 KRW), one silver prize (300,000 KRW), one bronze prize (200,000 KRW), and 20 honorable mentions (50,000 KRW gift certificates) were selected.

Six judges conducted the evaluation in three rounds, assessing the entries comprehensively based on symbolism, reliability, rarity, usability, and storytelling. Jeon Chang-jun, the head judge and former Director of Resident Cultural Life Bureau of Andong City, commented, “Many of the submitted old photos depicted modern and contemporary rites of passage, outings, and educational scenes. We hope these photos capturing now-vanished lifestyles and landscapes will enrich the region’s cultural content.”

The gold prize-winning '1978 Grandfather's 100th Day Funeral Ceremony'.

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The grand prize was awarded to Lee Byeong-eon’s ‘Circa 1969 Nonsseorejil in Shindeok-ri, Yeongcheon.’ The judging committee (Chair Jeon Chang-jun) explained the selection reason: “It vividly captures farmers plowing the fields with several oxen before rice planting in the late 1960s rural countryside. Nonsseorejil was the arduous labor of breaking up clumped soil and leveling the field just before transplanting rice seedlings. It symbolically represents the typical paddy farming landscape of rural areas that has now disappeared.”

The winning photo is a color print taken by a young American couple who entered Korea in the late 1960s as Peace Corps volunteers and lived in rural areas for about three years. The American couple, who had connections with Lee Byeong-eon’s uncle, sent several photos of rural scenes after returning home. At that time, color photography was rare in Korea and became popular from the mid-1970s.

The gold prize went to Kim Gwi-ha’s ‘1978 Grandfather’s 100-Day Post-Funeral Ceremony.’ It shows the parents and aunts posing at a photo studio after completing the 100-day post-funeral rites following the grandfather’s passing. Wearing traditional Gulgonje uniforms, the photo was taken at a studio in Yean-myeon, Andong City, preserving the now-rare funeral customs and attire.

The silver prize was awarded to Geum Byeong-cheol’s ‘1964 Resident Group Education in Gotong Village, Yean-myeon,’ depicting government-led resident education after the May 16 military coup. The bronze prize went to ‘Circa 1971 Family Outing at Yeonghoru,’ showing family and relatives having lunch at Yeonghoru, a representative landmark of Andong. Twenty honorable mentions were selected, including Bae Bong-hwan’s ‘1936 Andong Central Church Sunday School for Children.’

A notable aspect of this year’s old photo contest was the expansion of participation across the entire Gyeongbuk region. Beyond Andong, citizens from Yecheon, Cheongsong, Uiseong, Yeongcheon, and other areas joined in. Over 110 award-winning entries from this year’s submissions will be exhibited publicly and published in a catalog.