myKOREA with Suki Park
As part of our myKOREA series, we’ll be asking someone on the local scene to share their journey through Korean culture by naming their favourite musicians, movies, and artists. We’ll also be asking them to tell us about one more thing of their choosing.
Suki Park is a woman with many strings to her bow - best known for her work as a photographer, Suki is a promoter, marketing pro, and burgeoning DJ. Her photography work has seen her travel all around the world covering bands on tour. She is also a part of Platform Mag projects Holy Moly and Block Party. Here, she talks to us about her favourite music, film, and more.
Follow Suki on Instagram here.
Music: CADEJO
Anyone who knows me can guess which band I'll say: CADEJO!
I've seen them live more than I've seen anyone else; they're my number-one act in Korea.
I started getting into music photography three years ago. Around that time, I saw the name "Cadejo" on loads of festival and gig posters, and then I wondered, "What kind of band is this? Their name is everywhere!" I decided to go see them play out of curiosity without listening to their music beforehand. I fell deeply in love with their music.
Cadejo is a three-piece band, but they have an impressively full sound. So many people have the preconception that three-member bands can't achieve a certain sound, But Cadejo totally break that. Guitar, bass and drums; the harmony of the three pieces is perfect. Their performances are free but well-balanced. They seem connected even if they are not looking at each other. Their individual skills are brilliant, but these three people meet together to create a huge wave of sound that's more than the sum of its parts.
Cadejo's upbeat music has always been a huge comfort to me since I first saw them at Strange Fruit three years ago.
Movie: THE BLUE IN YOU (1993)
The Blue In You is a 1992 film about a woman who has to choose between work and marriage. In 1990s Korea, marriage was very important. So, it was amazing to see a film in which a woman confronts the decision.
This movie reflects that social climate realistically. The heroine is an independent person with talent and passion for her work, but she also needs love. The portrayal of women of that era and the problems and decisions they had to make was really well represented in this film.
The movie is also visually beautiful, colourful and sensuous. The director used colour to hide meaning in the movie with the use of filters. "Blue" is the key colour in the movie.
For me, a movie's soundtrack is always important, but interestingly, The Blue In You's soundtrack is more famous than the movie itself. You can feel very nostalgic when listening to this soundtrack!
Art: MIN HYUN WOO
Min Hyun Woo is an inspiration for me as a photographer. I even bought a medium format film camera because I liked his work so much. I also took his online photography class. He knows how to make the most of film's uniquely warm and vivid colours and really knows how to control natural light. I like his studio photography, but I really love his outdoor portraits.
His work that features water is especially beautiful. The portraits he does with water look silent but precarious, deep and mysterious. Nobody could imitate his unique style.
I would like to add, "HE MAKES ME SO F**KING JEALOUS!" I want to be a disciple of his, to be honest. I'm very serious.
I feel honoured that I live in the same country and in the same era as this amazing photographer.
One more thing: SILKI
Silki is a Korean cartoonist based in France. I feel a heavy sense of empathy when I read her book. I discovered her on Instagram first and immediately bought her graphic novels. She creates simple monotone line drawings (anyone who is interested in art will know that simple is often the hardest thing to do) with meaningful words, and unique perspectives. In her first book, the semi-autobiographical "Nevertheless, Here I Am", she describes her experiences while studying in India and France and shares deep, personal reflections that many can relate to.
"The only person I can lean on is me," she says in one of my favourite comics, "The weight is getting heavier, but I'm getting weaker. What will I do if one day I, the one and only one, break down?" It's a brilliantly emotional description. We all have concerns like that throughout our lives. This is the pain of getting older, recognising the need to protect yourself, and regretting the past. It reminds me of my favourite album title by Sundara Karma. "Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect." There is lots of meaning to be found in her cartoon.
