Typically, my curiosity and spontaneity help me meet interesting people of all sorts, including exciting photographers and other artists. For example, a few weeks ago, I was looking at pictures in a photo gallery that reminded me of my everyday life. These photographs were of food couriers on two-wheel vehicles. I encounter this type of person every day in situations in which I, unfortunately, get upset all too often. From a driving perspective in Seoul, it happens from time to time that the food couriers hit cars during their risky scooter maneuvers, or as they rush across the street at red lights or even block paths. I also see them more and more often at home in front of the elevator. There they stand, equipped with two or three smartphones in one hand, the delivery in the other. Together in the elevator, I can quickly see who has ordered fried chicken and Coke on which floor.
It’s particularly disconcerting when people have their café latte delivered to their home. I often wonder what kind of world we live in.
Daniel Thomas Faller
Today I took the chance to talk to Korean photographer and life artist Noah Han 한노아 (32), who “lives in this world” and documents it with his camera.
How did you get into photography?
One morning, I realized that time, space, and place play an important role for me. As a child of the ‘90s, I grew up during the financial crisis of South Korea, the biggest recession in the post-war period. By the time I was thirty, I had changed my home more than fifty times. The constant new beginnings led me to document my life and environment photographically.
You captured your environment with an extreme “wide-angle lens” and rode your motorcycle from Seoul to London. How did it come about?
That was one of my first projects. I wanted to explore the world and rode my motorcycle to London in 2016. During my trip – it lasted three years – I got to know many countries, people, and cultures. At that time, I recorded my impressions and experiences with a digital camera.
Do you no longer use the digital camera today?
After my return, I was active for a short time in the field of commercial photography. However, I could not always identify with that. You take hundreds of pictures in a day, which you then must reduce to just two or three. This process made me stop and think. In addition, Covid-19 has changed my life completely. Only thanks to a second job as a “food courier on two wheels,” can I keep my head above water.
What was your motivation to document your job as a food courier photographically?
Before I started working as a food courier, I too – like almost all Koreans – ordered my food online. Until then, I didn’t think about who the delivery people were. Those who risked their lives every day to deliver lunch or coffee to customers in the shortest possible time, in all weather, day and night. However, since I have been doing this job myself, I have a completely different image of these people: I really wanted to document that.
What does On y go mean?
On y go is a French term. It is made up of the words on y va (‘let’s go’ in French) and let’s go (in English). I “picked up” this statement in Strasbourg during my trip from Seoul to London.
It’s not the problem of the food suppliers, it’s a social problem, which concerns all of us.
Noah Han 한노아
What do you want to express with the project On y go?
I want to draw attention to a culture that – in my opinion – is moving in an alienating direction. AI (artificial intelligence) certainly has its good sides, but in the area of food delivery, this has not been true for a long time in my opinion. With the project On y go, I would like to show other people what it means to work as a food courier for a few dollars per order. As a courier, you have no direct contact with the customers, from commuting between the delivery service and the front door, you are almost always on your own. The process is always the same and is dominated by artificial intelligence and algorithms.
How does it work to take analog photos in this hectic working world?
It was a conscious decision to realize the project in analog. For me, it was important to consciously capture the moments, especially as a counterbalance to the food deliveries, where hectic is part of everyday life. With the photos, I want to show the subject from a healthy distance, remain objective, and show both the positive and negative sides. In addition, I want to preserve the dignity of the people. And I have deliberately chosen black and white photography.
What were the reactions to your exhibition?
There was a lot of feedback. Many people have left comments on my Naverblog. However, 95% of this feedback was negative. Many are of the opinion that I should be happy that I have a job as a food delivery person at. Because I am paid for this job, I should have nothing to complain about. Many were also of the opinion that I didn’t have to do this job- that it was completely and solely my decision. Many of these comments make me sad and thoughtful. It is not the problem of the food suppliers, it is a social problem, which concerns all of us. And this in turn motivates me to document more transparently about this issue.
If you want to know even more about the life of a food courier, you can find another interesting article under the heading “PEOPLE – Food courier in Korea – soon to be history?”.
Han Noah 한노아 was born in Gwangju in 1989. He spent his school years in Gwangju. He taught himself photography. He had his first solo exhibition in 2013 at ART-C Gallery in Seoul, where he documented skateboard culture. Han Noha lives and works in Korea.
