Retired U.S. soldiers donate photos of S. Korea decades ago

All News 15:48 April 24, 2017

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- Two retired U.S. soldiers who were stationed in South Korea decades ago donated some 1,300 photos of life here in the 1950s and 60s to the government, it said Monday.

The photos by Neil Mishalov and Paul Black range from those taken inside army camps to aerial photos of local cities, as well as major buildings in Seoul -- such as train stations and city hall -- before development, the Ministry of the Interior said.

This photo, provided by the National Archives of Korea on April 24, 2017, shows female laborers at a textile factory in South Korea in the late 1960s as taken by Neil Mishalov, who served in U.S. Forces Korea from 1968 to 1969. (Yonhap)

Mishalov donated some 1,200 photos he took while serving as a mailman in U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in Anyang, south of Seoul, from 1968 to 1969, according to the ministry.

Black, who donated another 109 photos, served as an administration clerk in Yongsan, in the center of the capital city, from 1958 to 1959, it said.

This aerial photo, provided by the National Archives of Korea on April 24, 2017, shows Osan, south of Seoul, in the late 1960s as taken by Neil Mishalov, who served in U.S. Forces Korea from 1968 to 1969. (Yonhap)

An official from the National Archives of Korea said they are working on digitizing and classifying the records with an aim to complete them within this year. The photos will be available to the public once the process is completed, she said.