SXU’s Soohyun Kim wins award by the CDS Documentary Essay Prize in Photography

Saint Xavier University's (SXU) Art and Design Department Adjunct Professor Soohyun Kim was awarded an honorable mention of the 2016 CDS Documentary Essay Prize in Photography, awarded by Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies (CDS). This award honors the best in documentary photography and writing in alternating years: one year, photos; one year, writing. The focus is on current or recently completed work (within the last two years) from a long-term project – 15 images; 15 to 20 pages of writing.

Prof. Kim's "Guryong Village in Seoul" is a creative investigation of the "shantytown" in the wealthiest district of Seoul, Korea, where he lived before moving to the United States and where his mother still resides. The village was formed in the 1980s, as Prof. Kim writes, "When thousands of people were pushed out of their homes by redevelopment projects in preparation for the Olympic Games. The 2,400 residents lived in shelters cobbled together from plywood, metal and sheets of plastic. There was a sense of urgency in documenting the physical spaces that residents have called home for so long, as the village is now scheduled to be redeveloped and people are certain to be displaced once again."

Prof. Kim earned his Master of Fine Arts in photographic design from Hongik University and a second Master of Fine Arts in photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago. To see more of his work, please visit his website.

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