[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled 45 award-winning works from the '2020 Seoul Photo Contest,' which focused on the changing street scenes of Seoul amid the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), on the 27th.
A total of 2,968 entries from 1,002 participants were submitted for this contest. Seoul selected 135 works in the first preliminary screening, and then chose the final winners based on criteria such as thematic relevance, promotional usability, and artistic quality during the second external expert panel review.
The grand prize winner, Junhee Shin's 'Social Distancing as Daily Life,' captured citizens waiting at the crosswalk signal at Gwanghwamun Intersection while maintaining distance on a rainy, gloomy day. The work was praised for effectively depicting citizens' voluntary participation and everyday scenes in active cooperation with COVID-19 prevention policies.
Other winning works included images of citizens waiting for mass at Myeongdong Cathedral while observing social distancing, and children boarding school buses while strictly maintaining distance between each other, highlighting how many aspects of everyday life have changed due to COVID-19.
Professor Kyung-ryul Lee of Chung-Ang University (Department of Photography), who chaired the judging panel, explained, "We awarded high scores to works that avoided clich?d and stereotypical expressions commonly seen in photo contests and conveyed communication messages that anyone could empathize with."
The grand prize winner will receive a cash prize of 2 million won, with excellence awards of 500,000 won (4 winners), encouragement awards of 300,000 won (10 winners), and honorable mentions of 100,000 won (30 winners), totaling 10 million won in prize money and certificates to be awarded next month. The 45 winning works can be viewed on the contest's official website.
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