Jack’s Korean Photographs

In the foreground is a statue of a lion on a pedestal. A child sits at its base while another has climbed up. In the background is a gate with three sets of doors below and a structure on top with two curved tile roofs.
Gwanghwamun Gate 광화문 of the Gyeongbokgung Palace 경복궁, September 1905Archives of the Arnold Arboretum.
In the foreground is a statue of a lion on a pedestal. In middle of the image are a set of four step and a walkway which lead to a gate with three sets of doors below and a structure on top with two curved tile roofs.
Gwanghwamun Gate 광화문 of the Gyeongbokgung Palace 경복궁, December 2025 Archives of the Arnold Arboretum.

John George Jack explored Korea in the late summer of 1905, while on a more extensive journey to eastern Asia which also included stops in Japan, China, and Taiwan. His trip combined business and pleasure and initially Charle Sargent was unwilling to pay Jack during his time away from the Arboretum. Sargent relented however when he saw the number of specimens, seeds, and photographs Jack brought back with him.