Series 04

Seoul Searching

2025 · Seoul, South Korea · 29 photographs

I spent a week in Seoul in March 2025 and brought my camera along everywhere I went. I didn't have a specific project in mind for the trip. Most days we were just visiting the usual spots around the city, starting around Bongeunsa Temple and Cafe Onion in Anguk, and I kept my camera out while we walked to take pictures when something on the street looked interesting.

29 Photographs

Four Paces Apart, four older men spaced apart along a temple courtyard path

Under the Stone Buddha, person standing at the altar beneath the giant stone Buddha statue at Bongeunsa Temple

One Among Thousands, black and white photo of a stone statue in front of rows of small Buddha statues

Shoes at the Threshold, green lattice temple doors with a pair of sneakers left on the stone step below

Two Pairs Outside, two women sitting inside a wooden hanok room with their shoes lined up on the stone ledge outside

Through the Pane, young woman looking back through the wooden glass doors of a hanok courtyard

Between the Pillars, woman leaning out from behind a wooden column down a sunlit hanok hallway

Patch of Sun, woman in a pink jacket sitting on floor cushions in the sun beside wooden glass doors

Step Sequence, three people walking along the steps of a wooden hanok building while a fourth sits in the window

Out on Samil-daero

One thing I didn't expect before flying in was how many political protests we would run into. Right outside the hanok lanes near Anguk and Samil-daero, the main roads were packed with rallies, flags, and printed signs. On one corner, an older man in a tall paper hat was waving small flags at passing cars, and half a block away people in hanbok were waiting in line for coffee and churros like it was any normal afternoon.

Crosswalk Glance, black and white street photo of a woman holding her phone and a heart-shaped bag with two men behind her

Flags on Samil-daero, older protester in a mask and tall paper hat holding a sign and small flags at a street intersection

Holding the Sign, older woman in a yellow jacket and glasses holding up a red and white protest sign beside a man in a hat

Churros Menu, black and white photo of a young woman in a white lace hanbok looking at a cafe menu board

Two Ways Down the Block, black and white sidewalk photo of two people in dark jackets walking past two women in hanbok

Inside the Palace Walls

Over at Gyeongbokgung, it was still pretty cold out, so visitors walked the wide dirt grounds in rented hanbok with fur wraps and winter coats over their shoulders. In the bigger courtyards, I mostly stood in one spot and waited for people to walk past the dark wooden doors, long afternoon shadows, and the office buildings rising behind the stone walls.

Five Ribbons at the Gate, five women in colorful hanbok and hair ribbons standing side by side inside the wooden palace gate

Hand on the Doorframe, woman in a black and gold hanbok resting her hand on a red wooden palace doorway

Court Red, couple in red traditional court outfits framed between dark wooden pillars walking toward stone steps

Along the Shadow Line, two women in pastel hanbok and white fur wraps walking across a dirt palace courtyard

Small Against the Sky, black and white photo of open sky and mountains above palace roofs with one person sitting in the lower corner

Wall and High-Rises, black and white vertical photo of a person in dark traditional robes walking toward a palace wall with office buildings behind it

Smoke Break Beside Silk, man in a dark jacket looking at his phone with a cigarette on a bench next to a hanbok mannequin

Elegance and the Flight of Shadows, pigeon in mid-flight in front of a hanbok mannequin on a sunlit sidewalk casting a sharp shadow

Crossing in Gold and Red, women in colorful hanbok crossing a sunlit street with rally tents and buildings behind them

Outside the City and Last Light

A few of the last frames came from a day trip out toward the hills where there was still snow on the ground, along with small details from the end of the week before flying home.

Sugar and Cold Air, pedestrian walking past a giant pink doughnut sculpture with mountain hills in the background

Three Ducks Following, woman in a black coat and beanie walking past large white mounds while three ducks walk in a line behind her

Last Snow by the Pavilions, long afternoon shadows across wooden pavilions and snow on the ground

Marker on the Print, close-up of a photo booth print on a wall with a black marker doodle drawn over the nose

Tower at Dusk, silhouette of two people by a dark window as the sun sets beside Namsan Seoul Tower

Self Portrait at Life Plant Shop, self-portrait with camera reflected in a small round mirror on a white wall next to a plant shop window

Seoul Searching

2025 · Seoul, South Korea · 29 photographs

Out on Samil-daero

Inside the Palace Walls