Jean Chung is a South Korean photojournalist renowned for her photographic report on the impoverished conditions of Afghanistan and Africa. She is one of the few who stands out in the world press organization, which is dominated by white male reporters. Since working as a freelance photojournalist in 2004, Chung has endeavored to disclose social injustice and disasters through her delicate, keen perspective. Her works are now internationally recognized, including the following accolades: the Grand Prix prize in CARE Humanitaire Reportage in 2007, the Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award in Perpignan, France in 2008, first prize in Days Japan Photojournalism Awards in 2010, and the Special Jury’s Award of Days Japan in 2011.

 

From the beginning, Chung’s artistic flair was conspicuous. After studying Oriental Painting in Seoul National University (SNU), she majored in photography and photojournalism at New York University (NYU) and the University of Missouri (MU). According to Chung, MU was especially helpful because it not only taught photographic techniques, but also provided opportunities to gain personal connections with the graduates, many of whom were already recognized as proficient reporters in international press.

 

Yet, her reality as a photojournalist revealed a different level of complexity than she had experienced from university courses. Reporting in troubled regions of developing nations was not only dangerous from frequent raids and robberies, but also brought Chung severe stress, both physically and emotionally. “In Africa, many people refused to take pictures because they thought we were using them as a means of earning money,” said Chung. She continued, “We try our best to show sincerity in our work, but it is always difficult to find those amongst the grieve-stricken people who would understand and accept us.” As for natural disasters, Chung admitted that it was also physically challenging because the reporters had to be in the right place at the right time in order to capture the catastrophes as they struck the villages.

 

Besides the physical labor, Chung commented that discrimination and remorse were what really wore her down. “In developing countries, I have faced so many people who ignored me just because I am an Asian female,” confessed Chung. To overcome the stress, she began to write diaries about her trips and the obstacles she faced, while at an Afghanistan village, where people would sexually harass her. The diary became an outlet of her emotions, encouraging and strengthening her determination as a photojournalist.

 

Sometimes the diary was not enough to soothe her guilt while reporting natural disasters. “I felt so remorseful while taking photos of flood victims in Japan, 2011,” said Chung. Rather than comforting them, Chung had to report their tears, their unconsoled pains of losing everything, and it was too much to bear. After the Japanese Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Chung has never voluntarily reported natural disasters.

 

It is indeed overwhelming to confront the pain while reporting from the edge of the world. However, Chung has never regretted the first moment she discovered photojournalism. For Chung and the photojournalists who roam the most neglected regions of the planet, photography is a silent testimony that captures the excruciating pain of poverty and war more intensely than thousands of words. Chung said she still remembers taking picture of a girl whom she had met in Congo. She had been raped by three soldiers of Hutu tribes and suffered from a clumsy Caesarean operation by a village doctor.

 

Through Chung’s photography of the girl, social attention focused on the reality of women in developing nations. Her camera precisely caught the moment of the haunting misery condensed into a teardrop from the girl’s exhausted eyes. The photo touched many hearts around the globe, enlightening them to women’s rights, sexual violence, and maternal mortality in many nations. “Photographs captivate the public by singling out the split second of the moment,” said Chung. To photojournalists, this split second grants power to change the world and bring hope to those suffering the most.

 

Jean Chung still works in international press and is actively participating in social events to bring public awareness to the suffering and oppression in remote parts of the world. She was named as an ambassador against Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and was selected as one of the 15 Asian Women Photographers at Ankor Photo Festival in 2010. She also wrote three essays: A Photographer in Kabul (2008), Tears in the Congo (2008), and Struggling for Hope (2010), which report socially sensitive issues.

 

To students who carry the dream of being photojournalists, Chung advised them to make unique life experiences. It is challenging to compete with white male photographers who are physically stronger and more easily adaptable, since developing nations still cling to some culture of the West as vestiges of colonization. Chung used her experiences as the minority in gender and race, producing distinguished pictures that focused on the perspective of the socially weak, especially women. “Korea is now a country that has awareness for gender equality and human rights,” said Chung. She continued, “It is time for us Koreans to introspect on history and the world and reveal social injustice through the viewpoint of the weak.”