The images, taken between 1890 and 1905 by visiting foreigners, reveal a time when the country was unified and its people lived in peace.
It is a far cry from the divided nation that exists in Korea today, where South Korea plots military strategies with the US to calm its erratic leader of the North, Kim Jong-Un.
Long before the Korean War tore a nation apart and gave rise to North Korean dictatorship, the people of north and south lived a simple life.
These stunning images show Korean girls smoking and gambling, happy children chowing down food in a street café, young couples getting married and teenagers trying out the latest fashion trends.
Other images show Koreans gathering to worship the Sindo gods, in Seoul, in 1900 and two men wind winnowing barley – an agricultural method developed by ancient cultures for separating grain from chaff – in 1903 in Incheon, South Korea.
The Kims have ruled Korea since 1948, seizing power after the end of Japanese control in 1945.
Kim Jong-un’s grandfather Kim Il-sung was North Korea’s first president and supreme leader from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.
The presidency was abolished after his death, and he is now known as the ‘Eternal President’.
Under his rule, North Korea became a communist state at war with its southern neighbour.
In 1950 he ordered the invasion of South Korea, starting a conflict that lasted for five years and killed five million.
Kim Il-sung had two sons with his first wife Kim Jong-suk – Kim Jong-il and Kim Man-il, who died in 1947 in a swimming accident.
Kim Jong-il was named the next heir to the dynasty. By the 1980s, he became supreme leader after his father’s death.
Under his rule, North Korea began testing and developing illegal nuclear weapons.
Kim Jong-il’s first marriage to Hong Il-chon lasted for three years and they had a daughter, Kim Hye-kyun.
His second wife, Kim Yong-hui, bore him two sons – Kim Jong-chul and Kim Jong-un, and a daughter named Kim Yo-jong.
Kim Jong-Un took the helm in December 2011. He has continued to reign over the country as a ruthless dictator, angering the international community with missile launches.
He married Ri Sol-Ju in 2009 and they have a daughter Kim Ju-ae.