Korean Elders

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Monday, August 30, 2010 | flickr photos

I have been living in Korea on and off for more than three years now, and the one thing that fascinates me the most here are the elder generation. Nowhere else in the world have a people gone from a poor 3rd world country, through a nation-destroying war and came out on the other side to see prosperity beyond their wildest dreams. The Korean generation that is now 70 and older most be amazed at the world around them and how fast it has grown. This is a country that was leveled to the ground from 1950-1953 and is now the 15th strongest economy in the world.
Elderly Koreans are much different than their peers in my home country of America. In Korea it seems that everyone works until they die, with no concept of retirement, and they work hard. They do whatever they can to keep busy, whether they are selling vegetables on the street, or collecting boxes to sell to recycling centers. In my photos I try to capture this amazing generation in everyday life, working, playing, sleeping and talking. It is my hope to capture a bit of their spirit in my photos, a spirit that can only be seen in the face of someone who has seen what they have seen.