Yang Seung-woo’s Images of Korea’s Gang World

—

by

Trent
in

Looking Back, With Nostalgia and Pain

After spending his youth on the fringes of the gang circuit in South Korea, Yang Seung-woo decided he did not want to be affiliated with them — he wanted to document them. So he followed the lives of four close friends to create a record of their gang lif

via Lens Blog: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/looking-back-with-nostalgia-and-pain/

At first glance, there’s nothing extraordinary about Yang Seung-woo’s photograph of two boys leaping playfully across mounds of earth (slide 7). In many ways, it does not fit in well with the rest of the images that make up his project “The Best Days.”

But Mr. Yang sees a lot in that moment, in those carefree steps.

“It represents life and death,” he said.