Kim Nyeong-man's prose essay "The Scent of Photography" with photographs

Yunjin Publishing published photographer Kim Nyeong-man's book, "The Scent of Photography."
This book mainly consists of photographs taken in his hometown of Gochang, North Jeolla Province, from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, when the author was a photography student at Chung-Ang University.
It was a time when rural areas were undergoing rapid change with the start of the New Community Movement, and the author lovingly records the daily transformation of his hometown.
A rice planting site where rice seedlings are still planted using traditional methods, a mother standing on the ridge of a rice paddy breastfeeding her baby who has no time to breastfeed and whose older sister is carrying him, children gathered around a pufferfish machine, a scene from a rural market, diapers fluttering in the wind in the yard, and mothers running barefoot at an autumn sports day, throwing off their rubber shoes.

The photographer's gaze, looking at the scenery of a life that has now disappeared, is warm, sharp, and humorous, making one smile.
Now, after half a century of upheaval, it remains a faint memory, but the photos and words still evoke memories of those times for those who remember them.
Kim Nyeong-man's photographs, which capture the pre-industrial era when everything was done by human hands and therefore the solidarity between people was strong, offer a warm comfort to those who see them.
In particular, the text accompanying one photo tells our story, which is old but actually not that old, in a delicious way.

In the preface, the author writes, “Even though people and scenery have disappeared, their eyes and scent remain and gaze upon today.
A photograph that, like a dried flower petal found in a bookmark by chance, releases the seal of time that was stuffed for a moment.
“The moments that have passed are no longer joyful or sad, and I cannot return to them, so I feel comfortable and miss them to my heart’s content.”
This book, which contains 51 photos and 51 articles, includes comments from around 90 people at the back.
People with different experiences and memories, each with their own stories, leave comments on this photo and article, which expand upon the author's memories and other memories, adding to the enjoyment of reading.
This is the feedback I received when this photo and article were serialized in JoongAng Sunday every other Saturday for two years starting in 2023.

Author Kim Nyeong-man (1949~) graduated from the Department of Photography at Chung-Ang University and worked as a photojournalist and writer. He published “Hometown of the Heart,” “Panmunjom and DMZ,” and “Memories of an Era,” and held about 10 solo exhibitions.
In 2022, he won the Donggang Photography Award.

Following the scent of time

The scent of a time long gone
I stay in photos that allow me to take out and retrace the past.
Even though the people and scenery have disappeared, their eyes and scent remain and gaze upon the present.
How could we always be happy?
No, how could we have always been so tired and sad?
Like a dried flower petal found in a bookmark by chance
A photo that releases the seal of time that was frozen in an instant.
The moment that passed is no longer filled with joy or sadness
I can't go back, it's comfortable, so I miss it to the fullest.
Photos and articles taken mainly in the 1970s are featured in SUNDAY JoongAng.
When it was serialized every two weeks for two years under the title “Memory of a Photograph”
Including a post from an acquaintance who said it felt like receiving a train ticket to the past as a gift,
We also include comments sent by those who recall memories of the past at the end.

Like dried flower petals that still have a faint, faint scent and color.
Because I want to share our past.

--- From the preface