∴Looking Back on Life in Korea∴

So much of my relationship with photography has been built around being a photographer here in Korea. While this isn’t the first place I picked up a camera, it is the place where I truly learned how to use one. I’ve spent much of my time and most of my nerves trying to figure out how to live in this country doing the work I want to do. I’m very stoked to say then, that as of this week I’ve received permanent residency, ensuring I’ll be able to live and work here in Korea for as long as I want.

Some of my darkest moments in Korea have been spent in the pews at Immigration. Stoked to be done with all that!

So permit me a slightly different newsletter this week. Here are some pictures of me from the 11 years and 9 months I’ve been here.

Cheers,

Chris.

I’d never have come to Korea in the first place if my friend Jared hadn’t offered me a couch to sleep on for a week or two. I did eventually find my own place - 3 months later.

One of the weirdest things about being a foreigner in Korea is the likelihood of you ending up modeling at some point. I was never a great model, but I did once get asked to do this…

And only once. As one of my students so bluntly put it, “It’s not because of your face. It’s just because you’re tall.”

He may have been onto something.

Fortunately I always had skateboarding to turn to. The crew out here was always welcoming and friendly.

Pretty sure this was from my first or second time skating in Seoul. OG Instagram border for max nostalgia.

It’s with these guys I’ve had some of my most enduring memories in this country - from crowdsurfing to Japandroids, to riding 50cc motorbikes across the country, to sleeping on mountains.

Every gang needs a name.

At some point along the way I got to turn this photo hobby into my full time thing. It still feels like play most shoots…

Especially when the people you work with are some of the best you could hope for <3

Speaking of best people, this where I met my wife Kelly…

and for the time being, this is the place we’re making a life together.

Living here is a consistently weird experience…

But from the day I landed it’s been a hopeful place to be, full of fun and energy.

Let me end it here, with what I look like writing this. Thank you to all of you who read these newsletters, who’ve given some of your time to listen to my experiences of being a photographer in Korea over this last year and a bit. I’ve got a lot in mind for next year, but until then you can keep expecting me in your inbox every Sunday. Speak to you next week! ❤️