[KS] from Namdaemun or from Tongdaemun?

[Sophie Bowman]

​Dear Frank,

The mountain on the left is Ansan (안산) and the long mountain ridge to the
right is that of Inwangsan (인완산). At first I thought it must be looking
from Namdaemun, but if that was the case you wouldn't be able to see the
Inwangsan ridge so clearly - but rather the tip of the ridge which faces
southward. Then again if it was taken from Dongdaemun I imagine you would
see Bugaksan in the photo too (북악산). Hopefully knowing the names of these
mountains and comparing them with a current map will give you your answer.
My guess is with Dongdaemun.

All the best,

Sophie Bowman

On 7 October 2014 18:02, Frank Hoffmann <hoffmann at koreanstudies.com> wrote:

> Picture puzzle:
>
> In order to identify the perspective shown in a 1904 graphic (done in
> paris after a photo) I am trying to figure out from where these early
> two photos were taken.
> -> http://koreanstudies.com/articles1/place.jpg
>  (will later be removed again)
>
> According to Samuel Hawley who posted it, the photo on the LEFT is by
> George Foulk. So I suppose it must have been taken between 1885 and
> 1887. Hawley states in the caption: "central avenue in Seoul leading
> west from *Tongdaemun*, the Great East Gate."
> (http://www.samuelhawley.com/hermitkingdom1.html)
>
> The photo on the RIGHT must, I think, also be from the late 1880s, but
> certainly from before 1897, as there are no streetcars and no electric
> powerlines to be seen yet. You find this photo reproduced in various
> Korean and Japanese Internet blogs (there mostly with the date "1880s"
> given). In all those posts the location the photo was shot from is
> given as *Namdaemun*.
>
> The mountains in the background tell us that we are looking into the
> same direction -- well, almost.
> The distance from the viewer to those mountains, though, appears not to
> be the same. However, if I cut the photo on the left (by Foulk), so the
> photos show us more or less the same area, then that first impression
> proofs to be wrong:
> --> http://koreanstudies.com/articles1/place2.jpg
>
> My simple question is:
> Does anyone know for sure if these two photos were taken from Namdaemun
> Gate OR from Tongdaemun Gate, and towards what direction? There are
> plenty of notes on various Internet blogs, but as it goes people just
> copy information, also wrong information. Maybe you would know by
> identifying those mountains?
> This, by the way, is a view from Namdaemun towards Myŏngdong Cathedral
> in construction (the big building in the background, middle of the
> picture, with its tower not yet raised).
> --> http://koreanstudies.com/articles1/place3.jpg
>
>
> Best,
> Frank
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------
> Frank Hoffmann
> http://koreanstudies.com
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