Photos by @junmichaelpark @seoulphotographer for @natgeo / On a bright Sunday in September, I photographed Seoulites enjoying the end of summer at Ttukseom Hangang Park. For this National Geographic piece, 33 photographers documented simple moments of joy and beauty during the global coronavirus pandemic.

As of today, 90.4% of South Korea’s adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 68.9% have been fully inoculated. Even when I was photographing in the park, every single person was wearing a mask except when eating. The Delta variant has also affected Korea, but the country has managed to keep the daily number of cases at around 2000. As a photographer, masks can feel like a big visual and creative roadblock. However, there is no doubt that the universal mask-wearing has been a key factor in South Korea’s numbers remaining comparatively low throughout the pandemic. I am proud of my compatriots for their patience and graciousness in these difficult times.

Many thanks to photo editor @maurafriedman for her kind support and constructive feedback. You can view the piece here.

(Text editing by M.)