Nampo-dong · Gwangbok-dong · Jagalchi · Gukje Market
Back then, in Nampo-dong
Meet outside Mihwadang. Look up at the cinema signs, then walk toward Jagalchi. Open 100 scenes of Nampo-dong, beginning with its streets and people in the 1980s and 1990s.
Start in the 1980s and 1990s100 photographs, 1952–2009 · Select a photograph to enlarge it
Films, meetings and market days
Mihwadang's signs, parasols in the cinema district, a meal between customers. Look closely at the buildings and faces. Four Yongdusan Park photographs are dated only to the 1980s–1990s.
Meeting outside Mihwadang
Cinema signs cover the Mihwadang building as cars pass below.
Shops along Gwangbok-dong
Different shop signs line the street, with people moving between the buildings and traffic.
A market beside the water
A broad strip opens between the market building and the water, lined with stalls and people.
Crossing in front of Jagalchi
People gather beneath shop awnings and across the road at the busy market entrance.
Looking down into Jagalchi
Stalls line a narrow passage, seen from above as people weave between them.
A path between the stalls
Stalls and pedestrians share the width of the lane in another elevated view of the market.
On the way to Yongdusan
People sit in a row along a stone wall while others walk past.
Noodles in the park
People gather around benches and places to eat, pausing during a visit to the park.
Drawing in Yongdusan Park
Participants settle on the open ground of the park to draw.
Busan beyond the park
The square and its monuments sit before layers of city buildings and hills.
A fish stall under the lights
A vendor sits beside a fish display under the market lights.
Stalls along the waterfront
Vendors and customers crowd the strip where the market meets the sea.
Vendors outside a shop
People stand near a shop entrance, with market goods set beside the lane.
A market of colorful awnings
Awnings and tarps fill the foreground, with multistory buildings rising behind.
Children outside a grain shop
Children stand outside a shop stocked with sacks of grain and bowls.
A small ride in the market
Children sit side by side on a small ride among the shops.
Above the cinema district
Signs and parasols frame the flow of people through Nampo-dong's cinema district.
Signs and people fill the lane
Signs on the buildings and stalls on the ground enclose a crowded street.
Traffic through the cinema district
A line of vehicles passes the shops and pedestrians of the cinema district.
Nampo-dong beneath the parasols
Crowds fill the street beneath colorful parasols and large signs.
The cinema street stretching ahead
Vertical signs overlap into the distance along a tightly packed street.
Nampo-dong after the lights come on
As the sky darkens, illuminated signs and traffic fill the street.
A day outside the Jagalchi shops
Stalls and people line the length of a market building.
Market shops toward evening
Stalls spread below shop signs, with a hill visible behind them.
Jagalchi at the water's edge
A waterfront passage runs beside the market building, lined with people at work.
Fish stalls beside the sea
Rows of fish lie between the building's columns and the sea, with vendors beside them.
A meal between customers
Two vendors eat beside a low tray, surrounded by basins and market equipment.
The arch at Jagalchi Market
Cars and people pass beneath the arch bearing the market's name.
The market seen from the sea
The waterfront market and the city rising behind it share the frame.
A candy seller at the festival
A candy seller and onlookers gather in the market's festival scene.
Earlier pages of familiar streets
Wartime Gwangbok-dong, the aftermath of the Gukje Market fire, and shops and pedestrians in the 1960s. These 26 photographs take us further back.
Yongdusan behind the shops
Houses on Yongdusan's slopes appear beyond the shops and people.
A crowd near the old city hall
The archive describes citizens gathering to watch a fire near the old city hall.
A Gwangbok-dong facade in 1952
Rows of windows and ground-floor shops show the street's appearance in 1952.
Balcom House in Gwangbok-dong
The building identified as Balcom House in the archive stands beside the street.
Outside Buraeok Bakery
People pass low buildings bearing a bakery sign.
Gukje Market after the fire
People gather among the burned market remains, recorded as the aftermath of the 1953 Gukje Market fire.
A Nampo-dong street in 1953
Pedestrians and roadside buildings capture Nampo-dong in 1953.
A protest truck passes through Nampo-dong
People crowd onto a truck in a scene the archive identifies as an anti-armistice demonstration.
Jagalchi seen from outside a camp
Vehicles and people mingle in the market; the viewpoint follows the archive's original description.
The lane outside Riri Hair Salon
A crowd flows beneath shop signs and awnings in a Gukje Market lane.
The road outside Seonghwa Dental Clinic
The road opens toward the hills as people cross it.
An ajaeng player on the street
Onlookers gather around a musician wearing hanbok.
Passersby outside Manu Tailor
People cross the street beneath shop awnings and signs.
A crowd around a street medicine seller
Onlookers gather close to the camera in a scene recorded as a street medicine sales demonstration.
Outside Sinsin Wedding Hall
People pass beneath the wedding hall's sign in Gwangbok-dong.
Walking with a child on her back
Shops extend behind a woman carrying a child on her back and a roadside stall.
At the entrance to Gwangbok-dong
People move in different directions between the building signs and the lane entrance.
Students beside a strawberry stall
Students beside a roadside stall look toward the camera.
Strawberry boxes by the road
Boxes and baskets of strawberries sit low beside the road.
The street toward Chungmu-dong
The road runs between shops and signs, identified by the archive as the area of today's BIFF Square.
Hills beyond Gukje Market
Hillside houses appear beyond the buildings along the market street.
Moving goods by handcart
A loaded handcart passes through a lane beside the dried-fish shops.
A vendor holding up squid
A person in the market poses for the camera while holding squid.
A place to prepare the fish
A woman looks toward the camera from a work area filled with bowls and fish.
Traffic beneath Gwangbok-dong's signs
Cars and pedestrians share a road lined on both sides with vertical signs.
Where boats meet the market
Market crowds gather close to the boats at the water's edge.
New signs, familiar lanes
The newer Jagalchi Market building, road work on Gwangbok-ro, street stalls and winter lights. Much of this chapter follows the streets as they appeared in 2007.
Inside Jagalchi Market
An aisle leads deep into the market between stalls and tanks.
The newer market from the water
The market's curved roof rises behind a boat on the water.
A junction in Gwangbok-dong
Signs for shops on several floors cluster where the street divides.
Walking past the smaller shops
People pass smaller storefronts between taller buildings.
Shopfronts beside the road
Parked cars sit beneath the windows and signs of shops on different floors.
A street lined with vertical signs
Large signs fill both sides of a street shared by cars and pedestrians.
A lane leading uphill
The view follows a lane between shops toward the hillside.
Shops around City Spot
Large shop signs and pedestrians gather around the intersection.
Sports shop signs
Brand signs divide the facade of a building occupied by sports shops.
Stalls below the shops
Upper-floor signs overlap with street-level stalls.
An angled view of the market lane
Stalls and passersby share a tilted view of the market lane.
Between accessory stalls
People walk between displays packed with small accessories.
A lane of hat stalls
The lane extends behind a stall displaying hats of many shapes.
Preparing food beside the lane
Cooking counters, customers and passersby meet in a single lane.
A banner above the lane
Shops and stalls continue beneath a banner strung between buildings.
Overlapping shops along the lane
People walk deeper into a lane layered with signs and awnings.
Passing the tableware shops
Tableware and household goods spill out of shops near Gukje Market.
Road signs near the market
Road signs rise above traffic with the city stretching behind.
Restaurant signs up the facade
Tall restaurant signs climb the walls of the buildings.
A street of restaurants
People pass beneath restaurant signs near the market.
The lane with a bedding shop
A bedding shop sign appears among the tightly packed storefronts.
A different shop on every floor
Signs for businesses on several floors fill the facade.
A parasol outside the toy shop
Goods sit beneath a colorful parasol outside a yellow storefront.
Traffic at the market junction
Buildings and a hillside overlap behind vehicles at the junction.
Awnings over household shops
Household goods and people gather outside shops shaded by awnings.
Shoes displayed along the lane
Shoes line a stall in a narrow lane as people pass beside it.
Shoppers in the market lane
People fill a narrow passage beneath signs and awnings.
Walking beside a street stall
Pedestrians pass a stall under a parasol and nearby clothing shops.
Signs and traffic on Gwangbok-ro
Vehicles line up between signs on either side of the road.
Shops sharing a building
Signs across the facade identify businesses on different floors.
A narrow path between shops
A lane between displays and signs leads deeper among the buildings.
Looking up at a corner building
An angled upward view takes in a building on the street corner.
Food stalls along the market street
Food stalls extend along the market lane.
A taxi outside the clothing shops
A taxi passes beneath signs for clothing stores.
Road work on Gwangbok-ro
Work areas divide the roadway in front of the shops.
City Spot during road work
Shop signs rise behind the work area surrounding a street sculpture.
A green coffee shop sign
A coffee shop with a green facade stands beside neighboring storefronts.
Looking up from the intersection
The view takes in corner shops and upper-floor windows from the intersection.
The city through Busan Tower's windows
The harbor and hillside city unfold beyond a person standing at the window.
Lights inside the market
Stalls and people moving through the market appear beneath bright lights.
Gwangbok-ro at night from above
People walk along the night street between illuminated shops.
Gwangbok-ro at dusk
Street lights glow while the sky and hills are still visible.
People gathering in the square
People gather around a decorative installation in the middle of the street.
Gwangbok-ro under winter lights
Tree-shaped decorations and shop lights brighten the night street.
Dates, sources and terms of use
These 100 photographs show the streets, people and markets of Nampo-dong and its surroundings: 30 from the 1980s–1990s, 26 from the 1950s–1970s and 44 from the 2000s. The earlier period accounts for 26%. Postcards are excluded.
Dates follow institutional and photographer records only to the precision supported. Decades, estimates and ranges remain explicit. The exact order of photographs within a year is unknown. Registration and upload dates have not been substituted for capture dates.
Short captions describe visible details and information from the original sources. They do not reconstruct people's words or personal experiences. Place names explaining present-day locations may differ from historical names.
Every photograph includes its creator, holding or providing institution, source link and terms of use. KOGL Type 4 prohibits commercial use and derivatives; some other photographs require confirmation of reuse permission. Web copies retain the full composition and watermarks with only size and format adjustments. Some public viewing copies are about 800 pixels wide or tall.