[Gallery Walk] Portrait of Koreans Captured in National Singing Contest

Seonggok Art Museum Solo Exhibition by Photographer Byeon Sun-cheol Featuring 15 Years of Nationwide Singing Contest Participants' Photos

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Both the upper and lower garments are loud with floral patterns. Over the top, an orange vest is worn, plastered with bellflower root juice packs. The legs are awkwardly positioned as if about to perform the "Gaedari" dance, and both hands are spread wide with thumbs raised.

The subject of the photo, striking an exuberant pose, is a participant in the National Singing Contest held in Naju, Jeollanam-do in 2015.

Photographer Byun Sooncheol has been following the National Singing Contest stages since 2005, capturing photos of the contestants. Until December 6, he is exhibiting 77 carefully selected photos from the National Singing Contest at the Sungkok Art Museum in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The exhibition is titled "Wind, Blow! Byun Sooncheol’s National Singing Contest."

On the 19th, Byun Sooncheol, whom we met at the Sungkok Art Museum, said he once felt a shiver while watching the National Singing Contest.

"The National Singing Contest was a program my parents used to turn on on Sunday mornings when I was young. After returning from studying in the U.S., I focused on portrait photography, aiming to capture the essence of humanity. I always held the idea that I should photograph Korean people as a kind of proposition. When I revisited the unfamiliar yet familiar National Singing Contest, I felt a thrill. I decided I had to photograph it."

What was once just a program his parents liked on Sunday mornings became, in his view, the program that best shows Koreans as they truly are. The reason the National Singing Contest has lasted for 35 years is likely because it best represents us. The National Singing Contest began broadcasting in November 1980 and surpassed 2,000 episodes this past June.

Portrait photographer Byun Soon-chul is explaining his work at the Sungkok Art Museum on the 19th.

Byun Sooncheol is a portrait photographer who explores various experiments. The "National Singing Contest" series is his fourth portrait photography series following "New York," "Kid Nostalgia," and "Pair-Match." The National Singing Contest exhibition was first shown in 2014 at the Buk Seoul Museum of Art in Seoul and had its second exhibition in 2015 at the Seohak-dong Photo Studio in Jeonju. This is the third National Singing Contest exhibition held after five years.

This exhibition showcases photos taken at the National Singing Contest venues over the past five years. Byun Sooncheol explained, "There was some regret about the exhibition five years ago. This exhibition is a comprehensive summary of the National Singing Contest exhibition."

He said, "I tried to organize the archetype of living Korean portraits. When I started in 2005, I expected the work to take about one to two years, but 15 years have passed."

"At first, I approached the psychology and desire of contestants wanting to express something in a public place. I thought it would end after one or two years, but as I traveled nationwide with a map, I realized there were undeveloped mines. The National Singing Contest is a program that collects sounds, but for me, it was a process of collecting people. The National Singing Contest is a kind of ode and tribute to the Korea where I was born and raised."

Of the 77 pieces, 32 are photos taken of the National Singing Contest stage. While the basic form of the stage is the same, subtle differences exist in each photo?such as the shape of shadows?due to different locations and times, including Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Seongju in Gyeongbuk, Suncheon in Jeonnam, and Okcheon in Chungbuk. It gives a feeling akin to viewing pop art works. Byun describes them as "33 social portraits."

The other photos are close-ups of contestants wearing colorful and flashy stage costumes. The exaggerated gestures and unrefined movements reveal the true nature of Koreans who enjoyed singing and dancing without filters.

Byun explained, "If you try to show something within the framework of portrait photography, it becomes less interesting. I tried to show the costumes, backgrounds, and poses as they were. By doing so, the true appearances unintentionally revealed themselves."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.