Photographer Sungwon Won Selected as Recipient of the 23rd DongGang Photography Award

Consistently Showcasing Highly Accomplished Digital 'Composite Prints'
Award Ceremony Scheduled for July 18 During the DongGang International Photo Festival

On April 18, Yeongwol County in Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Choi Myeongseo) announced that the 23rd DongGang International Photo Festival in 2025, organized by the DongGang Photo Village Operating Committee (Chairman Lee Jaegu, Professor at Kyungsung University Department of Photography) and the Yeongwol Culture and Tourism Foundation, has selected photographer Sungwon Won as the recipient of the 23rd DongGang Photography Award.

Artist Sungwon Won. Photo by Yeongwol County Office

The selection committee for this year's DongGang Photography Award consisted of five judges: Kim Namin (Curator, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art), Kim Changkil (Photojournalist, Kyunghyang Shinmun), Park Jongwoo (18th DongGang Photography Award recipient), Shin Hyeyoung (Photography Critic), and Choi Bongrim (Deputy Director, Museum Hanmi).

In accordance with the award regulations, the DongGang Photography Award jury focused on the overall activities and achievements of domestic photographers, with particular emphasis on accomplishments from the past five years. After a heated discussion centering on three photographers who received multiple nominations among those recommended by the judges, Sungwon Won was ultimately selected as the final recipient.

Wonsungwon's work 'Seven Years Old - The Bedwetting Laundry'. Photo by Yeongwol County Office

Sungwon Won, the recipient of the 23rd DongGang Photography Award, has consistently presented highly accomplished digital 'composite prints' by meticulously cutting and assembling numerous images she has photographed herself on a computer, constructing a single scene drawn from memory or imagination.

Wonsungwon's work "Timid Today". Photo by Yeongwol County Office

The judges commented, "Sungwon Won's work, which began with personal narratives in the early 2000s, has become more solidified through pictorial compositions that address social themes, demonstrating an expanded potential for photography as a medium that fulfills both its documentary function and artistic expression." They also stated, "We hope that the selection of this year's DongGang Photography Award recipient, whose work differs somewhat from those of previous winners, will make a small but meaningful contribution to defining the contemporaneity and future-oriented direction of Korean photography."

Wonsoengwon's work "The Sea of Journalists". Photo by Yeongwol County Office

The 23rd DongGang International Photo Festival will be held from July 11 to September 28 at the DongGang Photography Museum and Yeongwol Culture and Arts Center in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province. The DongGang Photography Award will be presented at the opening ceremony, which will take place at 7 p.m. on July 18 at the DongGang Photography Museum.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the DongGang Photography Museum, the first public museum in Korea dedicated exclusively to photography. To commemorate this milestone, a variety of special events will be held during the festival period.