Some time ago, I discovered two interesting photobooks in my favorite photobook shop in Seoul. In one of the two photo books, the artist puts a face to the everyday life of Korean shopkeepers. The owner of the photobook shop asked me about the artist and said it was very interesting photography. I wanted to know more about this woman and her photographs. I contacted her to make an appointment.
This weekend, I met Jeeyoun Kim 김지연, (73) in Jeonju. She is a professional photographer, runs the Seohakdong Photo Gallery, and has been writing a column in the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper 경향신문 for a few years, in which she reports about Korean photographers, among other things.
Jeeyoun Kim, I understand from your biography that you first discovered photography at the age of 50?
I guess I didn’t choose the typical path of a photographer’s career. Art has always been a passion for me. However, it was not possible for me to devote myself intensively to this in my younger years. At that time, I was taking care of my family and raising three children. I didn’t start taking photos professionally until I was fifty years old.
What was the biggest challenge and how did the people around you react when you decided to take up photography later in life?
The biggest challenge was that I chose photography! In the beginning, I often thought that it was impossible to become a professional photographer. I just wanted to do what I had to do. I didn’t pay much attention to the comments of the people around me.
What areas of photography do you focus on?
It was clear to me from the beginning that I didn’t want to devote myself to classic “mainstream photography.” I am mainly interested in daily life and the environment. I like to document and capture these in my pictures.
You consciously photograph your environment. How do you find your subjects?
I draw many ideas from my memories. There are, for example, visits with my grandfather to the hairdresser. This led to the “Barber Shops” project, in which I visited, photographed, and documented many barbershops in Korea. Additionally, the project “Modern Stores” consists of childhood memories when I often went shopping with my grandmother.
What do you want to say about the Modern Stores project?
In all my projects, I want to express the environment around me with my visual language. In the Modern Stores project, I show the places where commerce takes place in rural Korea. At that time – I took the pictures between 2008 and 2010 – these were modern stores. I also photographed the many stores from the inside. In doing so, I also want to give the viewer an insight into which items are being sold in each case and how colors and designs can harmonize with each other. And it is, as with all my projects, a snapshot of my surroundings.
And with the Self-Employed project?
With the Self-Employed project, I want to give a face, or rather an image, to every day or the almost forgotten. For many people, store owners are something quite normal; nothing spectacular. They are people in our society who often do not have it easy in life, especially in the countryside. In addition, many stores are struggling to survive or have had to close.
In many of the pictures, emotions are strongly expressed. You can see the pride in the faces but also worry. How did you capture this?
I knew some of the store owners personally, especially those from Jeonju. Others were recommended to me by friends. However, I needed patience and time to develop a relationship with these people. During my visits, I often met only one person. However, since I wanted to capture at least two people in the picture, I had to visit the store owners several times. During this project, I had a lot of conversations and interviews, which I also captured in videos.
However, I had little luck with many of my requests. The people did not want to be photographed. For them, this kind of photography and documentation had no meaning.
Jeeyoun Kim 김지연
You have spoken with many store owners. What touched them most during these conversations?
With many store owners, I simply took pictures. However, there were also people who, thanks to my project, looked at their own history more closely. I had such interesting conversations with one of the store owners (Modern Video Society) that I even ended up writing a book about this store and the family that owned it.
Why should at least two people be in one picture?
To show only one person in a picture was too boring for me. Besides, there are already many photographers who take pictures of only one person in a store or business. But in my photographs, I also want to show the relationship between the store owner and the employees. I also find the relationship between the different generations exciting.
You exhibit your pictures almost exclusively in Seoul. Why?
In the beginning, I tried to exhibit my paintings in Jeonju. However, I found out very quickly that people couldn’t see the meaning of the pictures. For them, the pictures were not special; too boring. That’s why I decided to exhibit my paintings in Seoul. There, however, the interest in my pictures was great. People in Seoul are more international and, in my opinion, more open to this kind of photography.
What are your next projects?
A project about my childhood memories with my grandmother. She was the most important person in my life. I photographed a lot of things around the Yeongsan-gang River, one of the four most important rivers in Korea. It flows through Gwangju, among other places. This is a place where I was able to share many common experiences with my grandmother. Unfortunately, the Yeongsan-gang is still very unknown nowadays.
Jeeyoun Kim 김지연 was born in Gwangju in 1948. She took up photography at the age of 50. She regularly exhibits her pictures in Korea. Jee Youn Kim has published several photo books and has been writing a column for the Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper 경향신문 for some time. She is married, has three adult children and lives, and works in Jeonju.
