THANKS GIVING (hereinafter referred to as TG) majored in English and Literature at University and worked as a high school teacher before entering the path of a photographer. How did you change the course of your life?

There are cases where only the opposite sex sets life goals from the beginning, and there are cases where goals arise as we live. After majoring in English and literature at university, I became an English teacher, but accidentally took up videography as a hobby. After video, I became interested in photography, and learned photography from portrait photographer Kim Han-yong. Naturally, I had a desire to become a photographer, and I eagerly applied for a photo contest. I was honored with several awards including national competition. , I wanted to be a person who evaluates, not to be evaluated. At the age of 51, he took a leave of absence and went to Australia to study English teaching and modern photography at the same time. After coming to Korea, I graduated from the Graduate School of Photography and taught photography at the university. If I were to answer the question of why I became a photographer, it seems that it is because of my character and destiny to do my best to finish anything I do once I start. In particular, it seems that fate was decided by the Absolute.

Does TG fatalism apply to your photos?

When I take a picture of only the opposite sex, a certain place, a certain moment, and a certain subject exist. I did not decide all of them. When I was at that place and moment, the subject was there and I just pressed the camera shutter. I am a machine called the camera It is nothing more than a person who manipulates the image. My photos are not my creations, they are a gift from heaven. That's why, when traveling in remote areas, I pray to the absolute. 'I'm struggling like this, so please give me a piece of art'.

Why did you become obsessed with TG documentary photography? I never imagined that I, having met the opposite sex, would be able to enjoy the benefits of civilization like this and live well. He grew up with a single mother and struggled to graduate from university on his own. I grew up in a difficult environment, but the longing for that time is terrifying. So I see my old self in a starving child living in a cognitively poor environment, and my mother in her mother. For me, photography is a mirror that looks into the past. In the subjects I take, I find the hardships of the past. And my ability to communicate in English is an important driving force for me as a documentary photographer. I can speak English, so I can dig deep into the alleys of remote areas to meet people, have conversations and interact with them, and take pictures of them.

TG What message do you want to convey to the world through your work? Lee Seong-man Modern people consume their lives by endlessly competing with others and comparing their lives. They do not know happiness because they are not satisfied with having enough wealth. We do not guarantee material transfer clothes. I want to send a message to modern people through photos of people who are naked and hungry and feel true happiness. It is said that if you break free from competition and comparison, you will soon find happiness. Why do we live? After all, isn't it about living to be happy? You can be happy if you accept yourself as you are without questioning whether you have power or wealth or not. Accepting your present self as it is is the first condition of happiness. I can be happy if I look at myself in the mirror, do not be arrogant, do not compete with others, and live my life satisfied with myself. Bhutansa

The reason people have a high happiness score is because there is no comparison. I just live by conforming.

With only my TG backpack and camera, I traveled to 104 countries around the world and photographed people. What is the subject that moves your heart?

Lee Seong-man once filmed a boy in Myanmar who eats sugar cane without realizing his runny nose. The child's appearance soon resembled my past. My family is from Chuncheon, and it was Gangwon-do, so it was very cold. He wiped his runny nose until the sleeves of the black school uniform were shiny. I saw my childhood in that boy's runny nose. I remember my heart swelled and I focused on the boy's face. There are still children all over the world who are so naked, hungry and groaning from disease, and they touch my heart.

TG has filmed a lot of children, the elderly and families. Is there any special reason? Lee Seongman My photos have three themes. Grandma, children, kitchen! Grandma is the past, children are the future, and the kitchen is the source of life. Children who do not know wealth, religion, or power know the essence of happiness. Maybe that's why William Wordsworth sang, 'Children are fathers of adults'. Looking at her grandmother, you can see how the people here lived and what her past life was like. And I really like the back of my hand with the veins sticking out. Also, when I travel, I always look into the kitchen of the house where the people live. Looking at the kitchen, you can see what the people of the country are eating and how they live.

TG picked India as the most difficult travel destination. So, what did you learn from your trip to India?

Lee Seong-man went backpacking in India for 35 days and suffered a lot. In the midst of that, I made two decisions. First, there will be no difficulties no matter how hard it is, so let's be thankful for everything in the future, and we vowed to live without complaining. And we suffered a lot about food in India. I ate so much that I got tired of it because it was the only Indian fried rice. So I decided not to complain about food when I got home. I realized the simple yet clear truth of life in India.

TG There will be moments that make you press the shutter. What moment is it?

The decisive moment that Henri Cartier-Bresson said! The decisive moment is the moment when the subject I want to photograph reaches its climax and my feelings reach their peak. If you are filming a scene where the grandmother is eating noodles, the moment the noodles rushed to fill an empty stomach is about to enter the grandmother's mouth will be the decisive moment. But capturing the decisive moment is not easy. I thought this moment was the decisive moment, because the next moment could be the more decisive moment, and the decisive moment could come after that. So I press the shutter button hundreds of times to capture that momentary moment.

He worked as a photographer for TG UNESCO. What relationship did it start with, and what was the most memorable activity for you?

Lee Seong-man looked at my website at UNESCO in 2005 and asked if I could use a photo. It was a photograph of an Aboriginal Australian, which he gladly provided. After that, in 2006, he participated in a photography class hosted by the UNESCO Center for Asia-Pacific International Understanding and taught 20 middle school students in Ifugao, Philippines. She continued her photography classes in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in 2013. I also remember taking a documentary photo for the UNESCO World Education Forum held in Korea at the request of UNESCO Paris Headquarters in 2015. I was very proud to be able to record with my own hands the international event in which representatives of 195 UNESCO member states, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 1,500 officials from international organizations, Korean government officials, and President Park Geun-hye participated.

What is your own secret to breaking down the vigilance towards strangers on TG travel destinations? Lee Seong-man wore only one pair of jeans for 35 days in India. Naturally, if a photographer from a well-fed and prosperous civilization wears expensive clothes and holds his camera to a starving person, he feels repulsed. In order to respect their personality and pride, I lower myself as much as possible. I wear bare clothes, I do not shave my beard, and I do not carry an expensive camera. I leave the camera in my collar and have a long conversation with the person I want to take pictures with. When a consensus is formed, they promise to send a picture, and then take a picture. In the case of Oji, they bring candy, ramen and ballpoint pens for the children, and cosmetic samples for the women. If you give them even a small gift, they will open their hearts.

TG It seems that waiting and patience are essential to get good pictures. How do you feel when you've been waiting to catch a wonderful moment? There are times when I think that if a person riding a bicycle passes in front of a building of the opposite sex, it will become a painting, and there are times when I think that it will be really cool if there is a shadow there. The waiting can be an hour or two. That is the aesthetics of waiting . But for a photographer like me, it is difficult to get to the waiting list. It simply captures the given moment. As mentioned earlier, art is a gift from heaven.

As a TG photographer, what would you say is the one photo you cherish the most?

Lee Seong-man This is a picture of my grandmother taken in February 2004 at the Jeongseon Market in Gangwon-do. In the cold winter, the grandmother sells garlic at the market and eats noodles for lunch to satisfy her hunger. Next to it is a glass of soju poured to melt the cold. This grandmother is my mother and the mother of all of us. It is a heartbreaking picture of a mother struggling to raise her child.

What is your philosophy on sharing TG?

You can donate your talents to share only the opposite sex, volunteer physically, or provide financial aid. I think it would be good to create a talent bank for sharing. I want to donate my talents as a photographer and go to volunteer whenever and wherever there is a request.

In December 2001, while backpacking in a truck for 30 days from South Africa to Kenya, a puncture occurred. Focusing on one of the children gathered in a rural village in Zambia, Africa, who stopped by for repairs, the photo was taken with a broad smile. .