In September 2017, the British magazine Monocle commissioned me to photograph multiple venues in Seoul for the newest addition to their Travel Guides. It was not an easy task; I had to photograph 130 places in 20 days because Monocle wanted original images, not those from press kits. It was especially demanding because I had to do all the contacting and arranging, too.
With the help of Monocle editors, I grouped the venues by location in Seoul on a Google map and started tackling them. On location, I was photographing everything from interior and architecture to food and people. Because of the time limit, I would have a maximum of 30 minutes in each place. Then I would spend 10 to 30 minutes moving to another location and so on. At the time, I thought I would die from fatigue (no kidding).
And this month, the Monocle Travel Guide to Seoul has finally come out after a long wait. Ninety-nine percent of the locations photos in this guidebook are from my hard work and archive. Although this assignment was physically and psychologically quite challenging, it is immensely rewarding as a photographer to have a physical copy which you have authored. It is a hard proof of your efforts and possibly a best portfolio of your calibre.
It helped greatly that I was born and raised in Seoul. I speak Korean fluently and know the city by heart. My experience and skill sets as an independent journalist came in handy as well. Please check the book out. It may be a good starting point for anyone who wishes to travel to Seoul.
Disclaimer: I do not receive any royalty from book sales. I’m just proud as the photographer behind the project.
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