Former Doosan Group and KCCI Chairman
First Solo Exhibition "Human Moment"
80 Works from Films Since 1971
"A good photo is one you want to see again
Works that evoke peace and warmth"
Yongman Park is more widely known as a businessman, but for half a century, he has rarely let go of his camera. Behind his titles as Chairman of Doosan Group and President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he was always positioned behind the lens. His first solo exhibition, "Human Moment," which opens on January 16 at Picnic, an exhibition space in Jung-gu, Seoul, brings the accumulation of those many years before the public for the first time.
Former Doosan Group Chairman Yongman Park is introducing exhibition photos at the press conference for his solo exhibition "Human Moment," held on the 15th at Picnic in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
His photography aspires not to technical brilliance, but to lingering impressions that endure. His belief that "a good photo is one you want to see again" leads him to focus not on directly revealing people, but on lingering over landscapes marked by traces of humanity. His gaze is always directed toward people, but his approach is careful and a beat slower.
His relationship with photography began in high school. An old Asahi Pentax camera handed down from his father, along with a few brief words of advice, served as his first manual. The moment he followed a child picking up bottles in tears during a school picnic and pressed the shutter, he learned that photography could quietly touch the lives of others. That experience lingered longer than any award, prompting him to assume the role of observer throughout his life.
Even amid academic pursuits, studying abroad, and his years in management, he would head out to the streets whenever he found a spare moment. The brief gaps in his business trips soon became time for shooting. For this exhibition, he selected 80 works from his film archives dating back to 1971. At the entrance, viewers first encounter distant backs and landscapes; as they move deeper inside, faces and expressions come closer. By omitting locations and years, he intends for visitors to encounter the photos through their senses, not through information.
Throughout his works, rhythms of red and "frame within a frame" compositions recur. Scenes of Jongno before redevelopment, China before the Tiananmen Square incident, and streets of Northern and Western Europe all traverse different times and places, converging into a single question of humanity. Photos where reflections on water allow lives to coexist in one frame, or portraits capturing the tranquility of everyday life, attest to his warm perspective.
The black-and-white photographs at the end of the exhibition lower the viewer's gaze. Landscapes and images of the socially disadvantaged, often hidden behind the facade of growth, demand both affection and reflection. He does not hide the times when he set aside his dream of being a photographer. Including the weight of those choices, this exhibition serves as a mid-career record of his life. Setting aside his identity as a businessman, the confession of an observer who has long gazed at fleeting human moments hangs quietly on the walls.
He said, "A good photo is one you want to see again," and added, "Among the photos I have taken over the past 50 years, I have selected works that evoke a sense of peace and warmth for this exhibition." He continued, "You may be more familiar with me as a businessman, but as a photographer, I may seem unfamiliar. From here on, I am photographer Yongman Park."
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