Stand By

• Photographer
  Shin Kichul, Korea, Republic of
• Studio
  Freelance
• Website
  https://www.shinkichul.com/
• Instagram
  shin_ki_chul

Using the Jeju's no-visa entry policy, more than 500 Yemenis arrived at the small tourist island located off the southern coast of South Korea in early 2018. Soon after, a wave of protests and anti‐immigrant fervor swept the country. An online petition asking President Moon Jae‐in to stop taking in asylum seekers drew a record-breaking 714,000 supporters. There the refugees found continued hardships and prejudice. Leaving their home country only to be lost in another, all they can do now is stand by.

I am an emerging photographer currently living in Seoul, South Korea. I received a BA in Business and Economics at Kookmin University before discovering photography. Passionate about social issues both local and international, I've become increasingly concerned with how my home country has responded to the Yemen Refugees Crisis. Hoping to shine an empathetic light on the situation, I've been working with Yemen refugees since 2018.