[Onstagram] Kim Dohyung, the World-Class Neighborhood Photo Studio Owner

A Veteran Photojournalist Opens a Black and White Studio in Seoul's Tongin Market
Exhibition at a University Hospital Inspired by Clients Who Recognized His Art

"Photojournalists must have no worries about making a living even if they leave their companies. They have skills..." I have heard this hundreds of times since the early days of my career. There was a long period when people regarded photography as a technical skill, and opening a photo studio was considered something anyone with those skills could easily do. These days, however, few people talk about photography as a technical trade. Now that everyone in the country?indeed, the world?is a photographer, such talk has faded, and countless photo studios have closed their doors. I know at least a thousand current and former photojournalists, but I have never met anyone who left journalism to open a photo studio. That changed about three years ago when, for the first time, someone in my circle?a former photojournalist?became the owner of a photo studio.

? Photo by Kim Dohyung

Kim Dohyung, owner of Tongin Market Black and White Photo Studio, worked as a photojournalist for over 30 years. He took photos for magazines published by the newspaper's publishing division. His photos of celebrities and fashion models appeared in well-known magazines such as 'TV Guide' and 'Queen', and he watched with tears as 'Sunday Seoul' ceased publication. When the women's magazine, where he had built most of his career, became independent from its parent company, he resigned and joined the magazine, serving as both head of the photography department and head of advertising for nearly 20 years. He said that while he was a photographer through and through, advertising sales never suited him. Still, he endured nearly two decades in that role. As he grew older and entered his fifties, he felt that both his sense as a women's magazine photographer and his advertising skills were not what they used to be. After enduring work that did not suit him for so long, he finally left the company.

He then opened a photo studio, but unlike typical neighborhood studios, he does not take or print ID photos. Moreover, people these days do not go to local studios to print their travel photos. His studio, located in a small market shop, has no automatic developing machine or printer?just a basic set of studio lights, a computer with Photoshop, and a photo printer. Drawing on his experience photographing fashion and celebrities, he decided to take pictures for people who need a "professional perspective." The studio is modest, but the results are as professional as the celebrity photos that once appeared in magazines. At some point in life, people might need a photo for an article, a presentation, or even a business card. His photos make ordinary people look as distinguished as the dignitaries and celebrities featured in glossy magazines or brochures. These are the kinds of photos he has been taking since he matured as a photographer. Portraits, family photos, and commemorative shots taken with an artist's eye are available at unbelievably affordable prices.

? Photo by Kim Dohyung

After opening his studio, he started using Instagram. He also began capturing landscapes and candid moments as another way of seeing the world. In fact, he has enjoyed photographing and expressing landscapes since high school, even being invited to publish his work in 'Monthly Photo' as a student. He is always busy?not because of a flood of clients, but because every morning he travels to the outskirts of Seoul, to places like Gimpo and Ganghwado, to photograph landscapes and post long captions on Instagram. Reading these daily photo diaries is so entertaining that time seems to fly by, and following his folksy, witty improvisations, one may even glimpse the path of photographic enlightenment. He has already published two essay collections based on his photography and childhood experiences in the countryside.

On Instagram, he calls himself a "world-class photographer." This self-designation is both self-hypnosis and a form of encouragement and determination. Not only photography enthusiasts, but also fans charmed by his humor and self-deprecating wit, flock to him both online and offline. In just three years, his Instagram (@photoly7) has gained over 10,000 followers. It is impossible to know how many of them silently support him, but several hundred are in frequent contact and visit him regularly. Among these photography fans, some are so eager to go on a photo outing with him that they pick him up on his way to work and head out to the suburbs of Seoul. When requested, he gives outdoor lessons on photographic composition. (Composition, or "frame" in technical terms, is the process of arranging and structuring a photo to make it visually stable.) Those who attend his "trade secret" level on-site lectures say their photography improves so dramatically that it feels like a revelation.

In Korea, those who consider themselves photographers?especially amateurs full of pride in their expertise?tend to attack anyone labeled a master. There are people everywhere who only talk about photography. Yet, around him, there are many who enjoy his boasting and chatter, praise him, and, above all, love his photos. No one blames him for calling himself a "world-class photographer." Perhaps it is because his words and affable manner disarm people. Still, it seems that this self-hypnosis and relentless effort have changed his photography. His work grows fresher, deeper, and more intriguing by the day.

Kim Dohyung Instagram

For a photographer, simply accumulating photos without sharing them is meaningless and not the right attitude. Photography gains new life when it is revealed and exchanged as a language with others. While Instagram photos overflowing on smartphone screens are nice, he believes that the essential communicative function of photography is only fulfilled when prints are framed and shown to an audience. He held a week-long exhibition at a small gallery in Insadong. These days, unless it is a "blockbuster" or a "world-renowned master," who goes to photo exhibitions? Yet, his show was packed with visitors, and the audience was truly "world-class" in scale. It seemed that more than half of his Instagram followers attended.

Tongin Market Black and White Photo Studio and Photographer Kim Dohyung ? Heo Younghan

Fans who saw his Insadong exhibition bought small black-and-white photos, hung them at home, and posted pictures of them on social media. One such couple were doctors. A high-ranking hospital official who also enjoys photography saw this and suggested holding an exhibition at their hospital, which had gallery-quality walls, so that patients and visitors could enjoy and be healed by the art. As a result, his larger works are now on display at Pusan National University Hospital in Yangsan, Gyeongnam. The exhibition runs until the end of this month (June). Kim, owner of Tongin Market Black and White Photo Studio, is reaching out to the world.