Jun Michael Park Photography

fragments of seoul is my long-term project on the changing social landscape of seoul, my hometown and the capital of south korea. seoul has been literally disfigured and fragmented by the two previous mayors' political ambitions and the desire of those who voted for them. real estate was a driving force behind korea's sociopolitical landscape for the past decade. places with fond memories were demolished to give way to extravagant monuments like "dongdaemun design plaza" and "new towns" with apartment complexes. people were blinded by their own desire to get their hand on the rising real estate, which eventually led to a surge of house poor in korea. while there were fleeting moments of beauty, seoul became full of faceless cubicles, and the individual citizen became alienated and marginalized. © 2006 - 2013 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

built in 1926 during the japanese colonial regime, dogndaemun stadium and sports complex stood in the heart of seoul for 82 years. it survived the korean war and witnessed the darker hours of military dictatorship. the stadium also provided leisure to people of seoul and was a cradle and a sacred ground for many amateurs and youngsters who would eventually turn pro. now-famous baseball players such as the former major leaguer park chan-ho and the current major leaguer ryu hyun-jin once aspired for success in this field of dreams. in 2007, the-then-mayor of seoul oh se-hoon decided to demolish this historic site as part of his political pitch called "design seoul". and the stadium was to be replaced by "dongdaemun design plaza and park" designed by british architect zaha hadid. it was torn down rather quietly, without much opposition, and approximately 500 millions dollars of tax money was poured into this project. now that 7 years have passed since the demolition and dongdaemun design plaza is coming to shape, people of seoul are finally realizing what they have lost - the rich narrative and history embedded in that place. i had attended a middle school that had a baseball team and had fond memories of the place. fortunately I was able to document the very last days of dongdaemun stadium in the summer of 2007, while they were still playing high school games. these pictures are an incomplete record, a fragment of the 82-year history, but they are also a starting ground for discussions and investigations that are to follow the opening of dongdaemun design plaza in 2014. these pictures and more, coupled with writings of a renowned korean baseball writer kim eun-sik, eventually became my first book, dongdaemun stadium. © 2007 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

In Youngdeungpo area at the heart of Seoul, an eerie mix of booming commerce, red light district and the lives of the underprivileged coexist. Next to one of the biggest department stores in Seoul lies a back alley among "redevelopment" construction sites, a slum under an overpass. Despite the constant influx of traffic due to the shopping centre and train station, the lives of the homeless and vagrants remain forgotten and uncertain. In 2006, I took photographs at Ongdalsaem Drop-in Centre, a homeless shelter. There I interacted with people from different paths - volunteers, social workers, vagrants, old prostitutes and "rehabilitants." Social safety net for the underprivileged is virtually nonexistent in Korea, and I witnessed ordinary people taking out time and effort to help others as well as themselves. All my subjects wanted to stay anonymous, calling one another "misters" and "misses." © 2006 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

my journey into kham, east tibet, sichuan province, china © 2010 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

k-pop sensation psy received a big welcome from his home fans. approximately 100,000 fans attended his free concert at seoul plaza on oct 4, 2012. © 2012 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

"learn how to knit with park yoochun" campaign, save the children korea © 2012 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

"dongdaemun design jam" with mayor park won-woon, seoul design foundation © 2012 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

an anti-nuclear rally at seoul plaza commemorating the second anniversary of the fukushima nuclear disaster. assignment for greenpeace korea.

adidas dream big campaign with korean intenational footballer park ju young

shinhwa lee min-woo's solo concert 'wolf m © 2008 Jun Michael Park. All Rights Reserved.

my first book “dongdaemun stadium” * 동대문운동장: 아파하지 않는 사람들을 위하여 글 김은식, 사진 박준수 | 신국판 변형 | 2012. 10. 19 | 값 12,000원 | 192p ISBN 978-89-94194-32-5 [03810] design by Kyoungtae Kim * many thanks to creative director jinho jang at flatfic.com for the pictures and edit. :)

my second book, another collaborative effort with baseball writer kim eun-sik, is a travelogue on professional baseball stadiums in korea. * 우리 야구장으로 여행갈까? 글 김은식, 사진 박준수 | 신국판 변형 | 2012. 05. 03 | 값 13,800원 | 248p ISBN(13) : 9788994194370 * many thanks to creative director jinho jang at flatfic.com for the pictures and edit. :)

wedding photography in seoul

travel photographs from around korea

photography expedition for tourism fiji