93page

93 P IK started out as an online pho- tography magazine featuring contemporary work from estab- lished and emerging photogra- phers in Korea. The magazine publishes information on exhi- bitions, in-depth tips, reviews, interviews and carefully curated imagery, all with the goal of showcasing significant but lesser-known pho- tographers, as well as bringing their originality, creativity and style to a wider audience. One of the main visions of the PIK project is to contribute to the development of Korea’s photography scene and to help connect local and international talent both within the penin- sula and abroad. For this reason, we operate an interactive Facebook page where pho- tographers can submit their work and have it shared. This initiative has been a tremendous success and has formed an incredible net- work between a wide swath of photographers in Korea — expats and Koreans alike. Having reviewed such a diverse collection of material, it has become exceedingly diffi- cult to describe which photographs we prefer in the magazine and on the Facebook page. However, we look for those photographs that can easily be connected to a certain artist, carrying a personal and recognizable mark from that person. We also look for photo- graphs that can be distinctly connected to Korean culture and geography. For the past eight months, the PIK team has been assembling a collection of captivat- ing work from all over the peninsula. It has been truly inspiring to see so many different views of the country. With summer conclud- ing, we wanted to pause for a moment and create a special edition that would allow us to look back at this amazing journey and show our appreciation to our contributors in a unique way. We knew this task would not be easy to ac- complish, so we gathered a group of talented and professional photographers to help us se- lect some of the best submissions. We care- fully chose the judges by loo king, first of all, at the quality of their work, and secondly at their style; we didn’t want any significant pictures to get lost, so we made sure our judging pan- el reflected the same diversity we hoped to see in our final product. In the end, the project wasn’t easy, and we truly appreciate that so many artists have tak- en the time to send their work to us. Without you, we couldn’t have put this issue together. Once published, the magazines will be distrib- uted in all the major cities across the country. Overall, we hope that our project has some- how served as an inspiration to many, and that it will continue to be used as a tool for the development of photography in Korea. MorE INFo j www.photographersinkorea.com www.facebook.com/PhotogsInKorea Lorryn Smit, editor-in-chief, PIK Magazine