Announcement of the 2nd Question Photography Award Winner
The 2nd Question Photography Award has been awarded to photographer Lee Kang-san, recognizing his long-term documentary project focused on Yeoinsook, traditional Korean inns and their residents.
The selection highlights his ethical approach to documentary photography, built on trust with his subjects, and his recent work that expands the visual language of Korean human-centered documentary through color and time.
Award Overview
Presented by Monthly Question, the 2nd Question Photography Award honors photographers whose work raises fundamental questions about human life and society.
Award Name: The 2nd Question Photography Award
Award Winner: Photographer Lee Kang-san
Award Ceremony Date & Time: October 18th, 2025 (Saturday) 2:00 PM
Award Ceremony Location: Gallery Index (45 Insadong-gil, 3rd Floor / T. 02-722-6635)
Creative Support Fund: ₩3,000,000
Organizer: Monthly Question
Contact: Monthly Question / Editor-in-Chief Min Byung-mo
Reason for Selection
Lee Kang-san approaches the space of Yeoinsook not as a distant observer, but as a companion who has shared time and daily life with its inhabitants. His photography captures social alienation and the fragile tension of survival through long-term engagement rather than momentary observation.
His recent work, Yeoinsook 2 – The Time of Humans, marks a significant transition from black and white to color photography. This shift deepens the sense of time and space while conveying both human dignity and resilient vitality within landscapes shaped by decline.
Above all, his work successfully narrows the distance between truth and subject through ethical relationships grounded in trust. This practice stands as a rare and exemplary case within Korean documentary photography, expanding the shrinking boundaries of the genre.
The selection committee unanimously agrees that Lee Kang-san’s work represents a meaningful achievement that questions human dignity and the fundamental meaning of life.
Selection Committee: Um Sang-bin, Lee Kyu-sang, Lee Il-woo
Winner’s Biography
Born in Geumsan, Chungnam in 1958, Lee Kang-san has devoted his career to human-centered documentary photography.
He received the Onbit Photography Award in 2021 and the Bronze Prize at the 2022 Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) in the Book–Documentary category for the Yeoinsook photobook.
His solo exhibitions include Looking with the Heart (2007, Gallery Photo Class) and Yeoinsook.2 – The Time of Humans (2025, Gallery Index). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the 2025 Daejeon Photo special theme exhibition Cities & Humans.
His major photobooks include Yeoinsook (Noonbit, 2021) and House – A Room on Earth (Photography Art Publishing, 2017). He is a member of Onbit Documentary and the Korean Writers Association.
Photo Gallery
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