#park sung jin
Interview with Park Sung Jin
What does Kid Nostalgia mean to you? Why was it important for you to photograph these different teenagers over the course of 8 years?
I used two words together: “Kid” and “nostalgia.” I used “kid” since they were all kids obviously and the word “nostalgia” came along. I was no longer a kid while I was working on this but taking pictures of these kids definitely brought back some of the memories of my own youth. It just sounded right at that time. If I did the title again, It could be something else. I don’t give the title too much significance.
I never really thought about doing it that long. It sort of just happened. I think I didn’t feel it was quite finished. So I kept working on it. I wanted to make good pictures of these kids. Years just passed by while I was trying. In eight, nine years, you can see different trends in their style even though they are still in uniform. I still don’t know if it is complete. I felt that I wanted to do something else and I’ve stopped. I don’t see much difference between kids of today and kids of 2009. I might go back to it if I feel there is more to it.
After your Kid Nostalgia series, what attracted you to photograph Flushing in particular?
It isn’t really after Kid Nostalgia. I’d shot these Flushing kids in 2006 to 2007 while I was in New York. I was in Seoul working on Kid Nostalgia and I came back to New York around that time. I was living in Flushing and I realized that the Korean American Kids in Flushing were quite different from the ones in Seoul. Their facial characteristics might be similar but the ways they carry themselves are different but somehow similar to each other. These kids in Flushing are American and the ones in Seoul are Korean. But they are both teenagers who share common interests. I was quite objective looking at the whole thing. I liked them both though. They were all cool.
What inspires you to photograph an individual? Are you looking for something specific in each of your subjects? Do any of these people have their own stories or histories that you are trying to relate?
A portrait is always interesting. You can never look at a person in life like you look at the person in a photograph. A portrait is a dead moment of a person. You could look at it as long as you wish and you could really study the person as you wish. We could find so much and so little in a portrait.
It is up to the viewer. I was not really interested in telling his or her story. It was purely visual expression. What you see is what get. I wasn’t there to make friends although I got to know some of them better. I think it’s my taste in picking who to shoot. I can’t really say what it is about the person but some kids just look more interesting than others.
After graduating from Pratt, what was the path you took to lead you to where you are now?
After school, I wasn’t quite sure about what I really wanted to do in general. I came to Seoul just to see and experience life here in Seoul. I ended up working on the Kid Nostalgia series. It all just happened. I would never thought of shooting these kids. I made a photograph of this one teenage girl around the corner of my neighborhood. End of the story.
The Park Sung Jin now and the Park Sun Jin 10 years ago– what’s the difference? What changes have you seen in your work, and in your life?
Nothing much different. I know things and see things that I didn’t know before. My father passed away 2 years ago. I’ve learned about life and death. I guess it really affects how I live and what I do.
What’s your favorite Korean dish? Favorite New York dish?
Gal-bi BBQ with a bottle of Korean soju!
PAPAYA’s hot dog with onion on top. Those crispy sausages are just awesome.
An interview with South Korean photographer Park Sung Jin by Vivian Loh and Jessia Ma.
All photographs by Park Sung Jin.
