Korea JoongAng Daily's photo essay winners share beauty of Korea with the world

K-campus

Published: 10 Dec. 2023, 18:10 Updated: 10 Dec. 2023, 18:21

Korea JoongAng Daily's photo essay winners share beauty of Korea with the world

Choi Ji-young, executive editor of the Korea JoongAng Daily, far left, and winners of the Korea JoongAng Daily's first Photo Essay Contest pose for a photo holding their awards at the Korea JoongAng Daily office in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Saturday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Winners of the Photo Essay Contest hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily took their awards home after sharing their precious experiences and thoughts about Korea — from the beauty of Korean landscapes and culture to family love — through a photo and a page story.

Elementary, middle and high school students who won the contest gathered at the Korea JoongAng Daily office in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Saturday to receive their prizes for their photo essays on the theme of “Promoting the beauty of Korea to foreign countries.”

A total of 28 students won prizes, with one grand and gold prize each in the elementary, middle and high school categories.

“I was motivated to write the essay primarily by my love for Korea and how that love has subtly changed as I’ve changed as a person,” Ian Cho from Hunter College High School in New York, who won the grand prize in the high school category, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Referring to his summer visits to Korea as a “wonderful memory,” Cho shared his first-time experience of surfing in the coastal area of Yangyang County in Gangwon and the beauty of the town in his photo essay.

“The coastal town was beautiful beyond belief, and it introduced me to the best that Korea has to offer […] I wanted to capture the part so that the people who read my essay might want to go to Korea, too.”

The grand prize winner of the middle school category, Kim Ryan Ji-yul from Seoul Foreign School, revisited his memory of trying out Korean street foods, such as tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), when he had just moved to Korea from the United States four years back.

Describing the experience of eating Korean street foods as an “introduction to the heart of Korean culture,” Kim wished more foreign visitors could try them and feel the warmth of the food and the people selling them.

“Winning the Photo Essay Contest is truly an honor. I hope many foreigners could try Korean street food and have positive feelings about the country like I had,” he said.

Daniel Kim from Korea International School, won the grand prize in the elementary school category, introducing the concept of hyo, or filial piety, by sharing a precious memory with his grandfather.

Talking about his experience as a “buffet guide” helping his grandfather navigate the buffet setup the two visited for lunch, Kim talked about how he naturally practiced the deeply rooted Korean culture and fostered a deeper connection with his grandfather. The piece stood out with a powerful image of a selfie with his grandfather.

The Photo Essay Contest, hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily for the first time, invited students to submit photo essays in English for two months from Oct. 16 to Nov. 20. The pieces were judged based on multiple criteria, including the relevance of the photos and the essay, and the overall flow of the written piece.

All photo essays of the contest winners can be found on the Korea JoongAng Daily’s website.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]