Guryong Village is an enormous shantytown in Seoul’s wealthiest
district, Gangnam. It was formed in the 1980s, when thousands of
people were pushed out of their homes by redevelopment projects
for the Olympic Games. The 2,400 residents of Guryong Village
live in shelters cobbled together from plywood, metal, sheets of
plastic, even cardboard boxes amid some of Seoul’s most
expensive real estate. My mother has lived in Guryong Village for
the past decade; I lived there for three years prior to moving to
Chicago in 2012.
In 2014 and 2015, I visited her for six weeks, documenting the
village, and providing much-needed photographic services, such
as passport photos and funerary images. In making portraits of my
family members and their neighbors, I wanted to do more than
show my great respect for them, I also wanted to call attention to
the struggle of their daily lives.
Awards 2016 Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Speaker, Las Vegas
2015 ArtPrize Seven, 2-D Category shortlist, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 Society for Photographic Education Award for Innovations in Imaging, Winner
2015 Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Arts and Humanities Award, University of Illinois at Chicago
2015 Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring Award, Honorable Mention, University of Illinois at Chicago
2014 Dean’s Scholar Award Nominee, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
2014 Provost’s Graduate Research Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
2014 Chancellor’s Student Service Award, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
2013 1212 Gallery Portrait Photography Exhibition Award, Winner, 4th place
(Juror: Stephen Perloff, Founder and Editor of the Photo Review)
2012 The Photo Review Competition, Winner, 2nd Prize
(Juror: Peter Barberie, Curator of Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA)
2012 International Photography Awards, Country’s Pick, 3rd Place, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Selected for Review Santa Fe, Center, Santa Fe, NM
2010 Korea International Art Fair’s Artist Support Program, Shooting Hidden Spot, Seoul, South Korea
