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IEAS Exhibit Series — Arts of Asia

Korea in the Cross-Fire: The War Photographs of John Rich

Image for 'Korea in the Cross-Fire: The War Photographs of John Rich' photography exhibit September 19, 2012 to February 4, 2013
Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5 pm
IEAS Lobby, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor

The year 2013 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the armistice that ended what we now commonly call "the Korean War." Seen as the first open conflict of the cold war, the Korean conflict pitted north against south as defined by the 38th parallel. Only a few short years after the end of world war, the Korean "proxy war" began. NATO forces, overwhelmingly American, engaged initially Korean, and ultimately Chinese, armies, in a conflict that raged northward and southward with a destructive power that ravaged the countryside and left enormous numbers of dead, destitute, and homeless.

Yet the Korean War is often referred to in the US as a "forgotten war," despite widespread coverage by the popular press. One of the photo-journalists documenting the war for American readership was John Rich, a veteran correspondent who had covered the Pacific War and Japanese occupation. Following the war in his images, through to the final days of armistice and withdrawal, Rich witnessed and captured with his lens both key moments of action by the highest officials and the daily life of the cities and countryside. Rich turned the unblinking eye of his camera on a people caught in the cross-fire of civil war.

Visitors at the 'Korea in the Cross-Fire: The War Photographs of John Rich' photography exhibit (Source: The Korea Daily) This display comprises not the images he took for popular consumption but his personal photographs, revealing his vision of the conflict and destruction around him. The opening of this exhibit will be marked by a panel on the legacy of a divided Korea today, and will close in 2013 with a program exploring the regional and international origins of the Korean War.

Wednesday, September 19, 2:00 pm
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, Sixth Floor, Berkeley
Panel: "Scarred Heritage: Achieving Peace and Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula"

Thursday, January 31, 2013, 2:00 pm
IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, Sixth Floor, Berkeley
Panel: "The Origins of the Korean War in International Context"

IEAS and CKS gratefully acknowledge Seoul Selection for providing the pictures in this exhibition.

See other IEAS Exhibits.