Harmony of Disorder

Bogwang Dong, an area right behind my house, was a place so foreign to me at first. It was my first time seeing such a village full of irregularly placed houses that looked like it would get run down soon. My initial reaction to this village was awe, fear, and confusion. I was scared of going to the town alone, as I felt misplaced in this area, so unfamiliar with the type of structure and pathway of the village, and the people there who seemed to be unwelcoming of me, an outsider to this village.

However, I had an odd attraction to this village. As it was announced that houses in Bogwang Dong would be wiped out in around 4 years as the government decided it was too run-down to keep, I decided it would be a good idea to photograph this place before it completely disappeared. As I went to this village every week, I started to realize the harmony in the disorder that I did not see at first glance. The colors went along with each other, the building structures that matched one another, forming one whole village, and the kind people who lived there. Slowly, Bogwang Dong became my second “home,” where I felt comfortable in, spotting the beauty in the village everyday.