A great surprise to the general public when photographs were first produced after the invention of the camera in mid 19th century, photographs today have become works of art eagerly sought by the world`s most renowned museums. A notable aspect in the diachronic change of the photograph from science to art is that the photograph has become an object not only of impression but of analysis as a photographic text. The linguistic and semiotic concepts as well as concrete analytic methods once reserved for literary text analysis have been applied to various genres of art, including the photograph. This study makes a cultural semiotic analysis of the constructive elements of the photograph as text. In so doing, it asks how culture can be read in the photographs taken by Bruno Barbey, member Magnum. What image or culture of Korea can be studied in the photographs taken by Barbey of the quickly developing Korea from the early 20th century? In what ways can images of culture revealed in these photographs be systematically and logically taught to public? The study attempts to answer these questions and proposes a semiotic analysis of the photographic text.