Better Days - Hardcover

by Seunggu Kim (Author), Seunggu Kim (Photographer), Simon Bainbridge (Text by (Art/Photo Books))

All work, no play? Leisure culture in South Korea
Over the past forty years, South Korea's economy has developed rapidly, with various consequences. As well as long working hours, many Koreans only take half of their vacation, and due to lack of travel time they mostly spend them at home. At the same time, the South Korean population is aging, the society is characterized by a hierarchy determined by age and social status. Seunggu Kim shows us the special South Korean vacation culture of urban leisure facilities in his balanced image compositions, but also focuses on how people deal with the challenges in a country full of contrasts. His photographs visualize people's fast-paced lifestyle and community-based trust, and he shows South Koreans adapting to their situation and enjoying themselves. The series Better Days received the Ilwoo Photography Award 2023.

Author Biography

Seunggu Kim lives and works in Seoul, South Korea. He earned his BFA in photography from Sangmyung University, and MFA in visual art from Korea National University of Arts. His works have been introduced at international biennales, photo festivals and museum/gallery exhibitions at home and abroad, including the Center for Creative Photography, Arizona (2023); MoPS, Seoul (2023); Belfast Photo Festival (2022); Fotografiska, New York (2020); FotoFest, Houston (2020); Aperture Gallery, New York (2019). In addition, he has won several prizes, among them the 13th Ilwoo Photo Award (2023), and Open Submission Exhibition Winner, Aperture, New York (2020). Kim's works are included in significant collections worldwide, such as the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Hanmi Museum of Photography in Seoul, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea and the Gyeonggi Museum of Art in Ansan.