Shim Hyun-chul has been a photojournalist for The Korea Times since 2006, covering news events throughout the country. He is committed to strict journalism ethics, and it has never changed since his first day in the newsroom. He has covered four presidential elections, two Olympic Games and countless daily assignments around the world. When he is not at work, he plays tennis. Shim is also a certified lifeguard by YMCA International, which means he can actually save lives.
Trapped at border
A Moroccan boy swims using bottles as a float, near the fence between the Spanish-Moroccan border, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. REUTERS
By Shim Hyun-chul
Moroccan migrant climb a cliffside on the shore of the northern town of Fnideq as they attempt to cross the border from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on May 18, 2021. At least 5,000 migrants, an unprecedented influx at a time of high tension between Madrid and Rabat, slipped into Ceuta on May 17, a record for a single day, Spanish authorities said. They reached the enclave by swimming or by walking at low tide from beaches a few kilometres to the south, some using inflatable swimming rings and rubber dinghies. AFP
Spanish security forces expel migrants from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, at the border of Morocco and Spain, late Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Spain deployed its military to the Moroccan border Tuesday as thousands of migrants jumped fences or swam onto European soil for the second day in a row after Rabat loosened border controls amid a deepening diplomatic spat. Morocco's loosened border watch came after Spain decided to grant entry for medical treatment to the chief of a militant group that fights for the independence of Western Sahara. Morocco annexed the sprawling region on the west coast of Africa in 1975. AP
A migrant runs after crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain, early Wednesday, May 19, 2021. AP
Two minors sleep inside a warehouse turned into a makeshift center for minors at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, at the border of Morocco and Spain, late Tuesday, May 18, 2021. AP
Moroccan boys swim from the Moroccan border town of Fnideq towards the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta has awakened to a humanitarian crisis after thousands of migrants who crossed over from Morocco spent the night sleeping where they could find shelter. AP
Migrants avoid the Moroccan police as they try to reach the border between Morocco and thr Spanish enclave of Ceuta on May 18, 2021 in Fnideq. AFP
Migrants manage to grab a boat of the Moroccan authorities near the coast of Fnideq (Morocco) in an attempt to cross over to Ceuta, Spanish enclave in the north Africa, 18 May 2021, as Spanish army troops are deployed after a total of 5,000 Moroccan nationals managed to entry the city by sea during the night and hundreds of migrants continue to arrive. EPA
A Spanish civil guard wait for migrants to arrive at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Spanish officials are acknowledging for the first time that the unprecedented migrant crisis has been triggered by an angry Rabat at Madrid's decision to provide medical treatment to the militant boss of the Polisario Front. AP
Spanish Army and Guardia Civil officers take positions next to the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. AP
Spanish Army soldiers clash with migrants near the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Ceuta, a Spanish city of 85,000 in northern Africa, faces a humanitarian crisis after thousands of Moroccans took advantage of relaxed border control in their country to swim or paddle in inflatable boats into European soil. AP
In this photo provided by the Spanish Civil Guard in Ceuta, Spain, on Tuesday May, 18, 2021, a member of the civil guard rescues a baby that was separated from its parents, who were migrants, in the sea off Ceuta, Spain. Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta is facing a humanitarian crisis after thousands of migrants swum around or jumped a border fence left unguarded by Morocco as part of a diplomatic row with its European neighbor. Guardia Civil via AP
A man lies on the ground on the beach after swimming to the area at the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. AP
A man from Morocco is assisted by a Guardia Civil officer as he arrives swimming at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. AP
Moroccan and sub-saharan migrants walk past a fence separating the Moroccan and Spanish side of the border near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. AP
Children who crossed into Spain wait inside a temporary shelter for unaccompanied minors in the enclave of Ceuta, next to the border of Morocco and Spain, Thursday, May 20, 2021. Security forces clashed well into the night with dozens of mostly young men who had gathered in Fnideq, the Moroccan town across the border, hoping to follow the thousands who reached European soil in previous days. Morocco had warned Spain that it would face consequences over Madrid's secretive decision to provide coronavirus treatment to the head of a militant group fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. Spain's Defense Minister said Thursday the country won't accept being "blackmailed." AP