Seunggu Kim
South Korea
Biography
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea in 1979, Seunggu Kim lives and works in Seoul, South Korea. And he majored in photography in Sangmyung University and studied visual art at Korea National University of Arts. He would like to describe how we are living. He thought photography could show our ‘real world’. He wanted to balance the unnatural elements in the rectangle frame and describe that we are getting used to the social ironies.
Exhibitions have included Filter Space in Chicago, Fotografiska in New York, The Korea Society in New York, Aperture Gallery in New York, BBA Gallery in Berlin, Belfast Photo Festival, Format Photography Festival, Three Shadows Photography Art Centre in Beijing, Artbit Gallery, Post Territory Ujeongguk, Song Eun Artcube, Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, Art Sonje, Song Eun Art Space, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea.
Awards and Grants include First Prize, Life Framer, 'Ten by Ten', Houston FotoFest, Selected as a 'Supported Artist of 2019 Solo Exhibition', Filter Space, Chicago, Grand Prix Winner, Tokyo International Photography Competition, Korean Photographer’s Fellowship of the year, KT&G, The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, Korea, GoEun Art and Cultural Foundation, Korea, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation.
Project
“Better Days” by Seunggu Kim is a long-term documentary photography project that visually explores South Korea’s unique urban leisure culture and the social dynamics of contemporary life. Over more than a decade, Kim has photographed how people in his home country spend their limited free time gathering in packed swimming pools, parks, festival sites and recreational spaces that serve as substitutes for distant travel and rest.
Through balanced, elevated compositions, the series highlights the “pali-pali” (fast-fast) ethos of Korean society — a blend of intense work, short holiday windows and a strong drive to enjoy community and leisure whenever possible. Kim’s images convey both the ironies and optimism of these collective moments, showing how densely populated and meticulously designed leisure environments reflect broader cultural rhythms of adaptation, aspiration and shared experience in the face of modern pressures.
