PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF INTRODUCTION

THIS IS PART OF A FIRST DRAFT OF INTRODUCTION. A PROOFREADING IS NEEDED.

My interest in poverty has been back to when I first did my project portraying the poor living in a shanty town of Seoul, Korea in 2003. I was an intern in newspaper, the one who first illustrated the area, called ‘Chok-bang’ in the newspaper. My photographs were published in it and won in College Reporting competition. Ever since then, I unconsciously was interested in the poor whose their lives were not shown in Korean media well. Thus, I personally felt guilty of what I had and thought most of the poor deserved more than they did. This is because I believe their underprivileged lives were caused by this society, rather than caused by the lack of their assiduity or their natures. It means to me that our society should have taken care of them more and paid attention to their unfortune. I have learned that in most case, both Korea and U.S. media have not focused on poverty in their country for their own reasons. If I take a risk to generalize it, portrayals of poverty in U.S. media, in many case, are stereotyped due to colors and gender. In Korea, however, most media seem to have no interest in it with respect to its frequency of publishment in Korean media. When it comes to conservative media, its frequency becomes less. Lack of portrayals of poverty in Korean media and various stereotype of poverty in U.S. media prompted me to photograph poverty here.

What I am concerned about is whether these two subjects I am supposed to photograph could represent poverty in Korea. However, given the fact it is impossible for me to photograph all of the poverty in Korea, it is better to put more efforts to find subjects who, I think, reflect poverty well. It has encouraged me to spend more time identifying ‘ideal’ subjects. Having been refused by some subjects, I believed the two subjects I photograph are good enough for my project. I have built a good relationship with these subjects, but I keep worried if they someday notify that they do not like me to photograph them anymore. In my previous attempts to have subjects, some subjects, all of sudden, asked me not to take pictures of them, which led a failure of completing story-tellings. Even though I fully explained my intentions and plans to photograph them, some never seemed to understand why I want to photograph them in a long-term project. It has frustrated me to have them apprehended but I soon accepted what I faced and what they were. It is a good chance for me to keep a good relationship with both of two subjects beyond photographing them for my study. The more I get to know them, the better I feel I understand how they feel and what they have experienced.

I have focused on urban poverty in Busan, a second largest city in Korea, because I have stayed in this city for three years and I believe where I am is the best place I can explore. In addition to the size of city, this city has become modernized recently- there is a so-called biggest department store in the world and a tallest apartment building in Korea. However, because part of the absence of massive destruction caused by Korean War in 1950, this city has maintained both past and present. These facts, I believe, contribute to unparallel portrayals of urban poverty for my study. One of my subject, an elderly couple, is living near the highly-developed area of witnessing gentrification in this city. They have lived for nearly 60 years after their marriage. They raised three children before their children made their own family. The house looks impoverished compared to living conditions right near skyscrapers, their those are very poor- the lack of proper repairs of their home and basic needs. Things striking me is that they live in a separate room. Their activities happen in a different place except dining. The woman said they have lived together long enough and need a somewhat independence/privacy from each other. They sometime invite their neighbors to have dinner together. The couple know many neighbors around their house because they live here for many years. Their major activity that they do together is to offer prayer in other’s private home, They are religious with a quite unique belief of which some call it heretical stemming from Buddhism. They study and pray once a month with a small group of people sharing the same belief.

My second subject is a family with four children. They have lived in a historically poor village between mountains in Busan. It is one of the few remaining villages to see collectively poor living standards. They have rented their house for several years. Father have earned little money enough to feed his family. Mother used to pick up used items from garbage on the street but she was not able to continue to work due to her health issue. She is just taking care of her youngest baby at home. Their children spend time with themselves after school because most of their school friends join a after-school program. They play outside while passing through narrow aisles among the packed houses and watch TV while being in home.