SEOUL, April 29 (AJP) -Photography has become second nature in everyday life — instantly shared, endlessly consumed — yet its deeper resonance often remains elusive. It brings us face to face with moments we have never lived, lives we have never known, making the medium feel at once intimate and distant.
Against this backdrop, a festival that returns to the essence of photography has come back after a five-year pause.
The Seoul Photo Festival, themed “Come Back Home,” is underway at the Seoul Museum of Photography in northern Seoul.
Suspended since 2021, the festival’s return carries added weight this year. It marks the first edition to be held at Korea’s first public museum dedicated exclusively to photography — a milestone that signals a broader effort to reposition photography within the city’s visual arts landscape.
Rather than anchoring “home” to a fixed place, the exhibition approaches it as something more fluid — shaped by memory, relationships and movement. Bringing together 23 artists across generations, it unfolds across four sections — “What Makes a Home,” “Moving Homes,” “On the Road,” and “Our Home” — each tracing a different emotional and conceptual path through the idea.
The experience extends beyond viewing. The festival expands its participatory programs, inviting visitors not only to look, but also to read, talk, create and share — turning photography into a space of interaction rather than observation.
Running through June 14, the festival is open to the public free of charge.
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