2016 / Portfolio
/ Fine Art_PO (Non-Pro)
Han - The Dark Side of Korea
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Photographer
Radu Diaconu
Han is often translated as "Sorrow, spite, rancor, regret, resentment or grief. Han is an inherent feature of the Korean character and as such finds expression, implied or explicit, in nearly every aspect of Korean life and culture."
You cannot understand the meaning of Han until you visit South Korea, and for that matter, one cannot understand Han if one is not from South Korea.
Yet, fragments are visible in every layer of society. One can sense it by walking down the street. It is visible when looking at the mountains in the distance. The wind carries it forth and it enters the city and penetrates all those that live in it, like water running through a maze. You feel it when you look at the people; it’s in their eyes, in their demeanour. It is everywhere.
This is a short story about Seoul and Korea, an illusion, an imaginary conception of something real and tangible. Fiction. It is a story about Han, about trying to capture this feeling in pictures. It is about sorrow, pain, regret, and hope.
Originally from Bucharest, Romania, I grew up and studied in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
I specialize in medium to long-term projects about social, humanitarian and religious issues.
Documentary and street photography are the two elements that define my career and passion as a photographer.