War Drums and Ballet: How Hate Is Taught In South Korea

Share on social media

Photographer

A. Paul Estabrook
Date of Photograph

2015/06/28
Technical Info

Sony A7 w/ Elmarit 28mm
Socials
Website

https://www.arguspaul.com

They bang on war drums with the word ‘homosexual’. To promote traditional beauty, ballet is performed in the street. This happens every year at the annual Pride Festival in Seoul. Though most come to celebrate a day of equality, extremists use the event to warn about the sin of homosexuality. Small children -- too young to understand the chaos -- get lost in the crowd. Others join in, relying on cues from elders. Exhausted extremists collapse, as organizers continue to chant, “Homosexuals destroy our country!” This is a portrait of how hate is taught in South Korea.

Biography

I’m an independent photographer who works in South Korea and the USA. As a Korean-American who grew up in a rural area of Virginia, I have a unique perspective of Korean identity and its relationship to both global and regional communities. My work has been awarded by the Magnum Photography Awards, Sony World Photography Awards, LensCulture, PDN, IPA, MIFA, TIFA, as well as selected for inclusion at the 2017 Aperture Summer Open: On Freedom.
Awards

2017 • Magnum Photography Awards | Street Series Winner | 1st Place • Sony World Photography Awards | National Awards: USA | 1st Place • International Photographer Of The Year Awards | Open: Photojournalism / Story | 1st Place • Moscow International Foto Awards | Editorial: Political | 1st Place • Moscow International Foto Awards | Editorial: Sports | 1st Place • International Photography Awards | Editorial: Political | 2nd Place • Tokyo International Foto Awards | Editorial: Political | 2nd Place • StreetFoto San Francisco: International Street Photography Awards | 2nd Place • Monochrome Awards | Photojournalism | 2nd Place • Seventh Annual PDN Exposure Award 2016 • International Photographer Of The Year Awards | People: Street | 1st Place • Tokyo International Foto Awards | Events: Sports | 2nd Place • Moscow International Foto Awards | People: Life Style | 2nd Place • International Photography Awards | Editorial: Personality | 3rd Place • Sixth Annual PDN Exposure Award 2015 • International Photography Awards | Event: Other | 2nd Place --Full CV at http://www.arguspaul.com/cv.html