OLD KOREA 1890~1903

This is Korea ca.1897-1900.
Commenter idea0853 believes it is actually September 6th, 1897.
See his comment far down below.
As a stereoview,
the first record I can find of its being published is in 1901.


The image is tragically symbolic.
A crowd of Koreans stand under the shadow of the Japanese
"Rising Sun" flag,
while their own Korean National Flag is relegated to the size
of a bath towel.

Although Korea has not yet been formally annexed to Japan,
a series of subjugating treaties backed by military force
had allowed the Japanese to "call the shots" and "run the show",
basically doing whatever they wanted with Korea and the Koreans.


I have never seen such a graphic image demonstrating the lack
of respect Japan had for any of its neighbors in the Century
leading up to WW2 -- well,
except for a pile of photographs I have that show the Japanese
Military abusing the Chinese, which a National Magazine in Tokyo
told me they could never publish in Japan.
"It is not good for Japanese Morale and the Nation of Japan
to know what happened in the past", I was told.


Of course, they did not have to tell me that,
as I was already familiar with the so-called "History Books"
approved by the Ministry of Education during my over three
decades of living there. Of course,
some of the History Books published in America for their
schools are in the pits as well.
No doubt every nation (to either a LARGE or small degree)
lives in some amount of corporate, official denial about not
only the present, but especially the past.

Comment #6 below from Korean visitor 윤곡 states
that these are not "High Class Women"
as the title above describes them.
Instead, the commenter is sure they are really Korean "Giseang"
기생 : 妓女, 妓 ---
similar to a Japanese Geisha. Please read the comment in full below,
where exception is also taken to a claim made by another commenter.
Things suddenly get interesting... !