[Unstagram] What If Travel Remains Only in Photos...

Novelist Kim Young-ha shared travel stories on a TV program called "The Joy of Conversation" and played sounds he recorded at a Japanese subway station. The sounds of people’s footsteps, murmurs, and announcements were mixed together. A journalist who appeared with him exclaimed, "It feels like we are actually in Japan." Would showing high-definition videos or photos have made the feeling of "being there" even stronger? Focusing solely on the sounds and imagining the scenes might have heightened the senses. Whether it’s a painting, video, or writing, if everything that exists is shown and explained, there will be no curiosity or imagination left, making it difficult to evoke any inner feelings. He suggested writing down what one sees and hears while traveling. He called it a "word picture," where meaning is reflected upon through written description. Writing is a reaction that comes after perception and thought, as the existing things and experiences reach the senses.

Memories will disappear like soap bubbles, so I diligently take photos. On the seaside rocks, there is a messy graffiti expressing another self. (Hong Kong, 2011)

Nowadays, wherever we go, we capture everything we see in photos, perhaps thinking that photos can replace all memories and sensations. Or maybe we no longer even need to remember all experiences. Travel, food, friends?all can be found on Instagram. The scenery is in the photos, and so are the food, friends, accommodations, and memories. Every trip is commemorated and stored without ever leaving the photos. For many people, that now means inside their phones.

Hue, Vietnam, 2018

Meaning does not necessarily have to be defined in words, nor must travel always carry some meaning. But when photos overflow and special memories and time evaporate, what remains besides the photos? Looking through photos might bring back fragmented memories, but expecting awareness of what thoughts were had, what experiences were lived, and how relationships with the world and others changed would be unrealistic.

Irkutsk, Russia, 2016

British thinker John Ruskin said, "The proper way to possess beauty is to understand it and be conscious of the causes that produce it." The most effective method is to write about it or depict beautiful places through art. Even if not reaching the origins of objects and life, this can provide a concrete understanding of the world seen through the senses and keep it alive in memory. Ruskin also said that people tend to want to possess beautiful things, and acts like buying souvenirs, engraving one’s name on pillars, or taking photos are low-level expressions of this desire to possess. Since this was said long ago, it is difficult to argue its relevance today. After all, reasons for taking photos and the meaning of travel vary from person to person.

Fiji Nandi, 2013

Rome, 2009

London, 2009

Jeju Island, 2015