Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
PHOTOS Paektu: Korea's most sacred mountain
Mount Paektu's crater lake, seen from above from the side of China's Jilin province, remains frozen on June 13. Standing at 2,744 meters with 16 peaks, Mount Paektu was approved as a UNESCO Global Geopark on April 10 by the UNESCO Executive Board. The designation aims to preserve and manage areas of significant geological value. Last year, China registered the Chinese portion of the mountain as the “Changbaishan UNESCO Global Geopark.” With the recent inclusion of the North Korean side, the entirety of Mount Paektu is now recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Choi Won-suk
Tourists crowd the northern slope area of Mount Paektu’s crater lake in China's Jilin province, June 11. Visitor numbers have surged following the recent designation of the entire mountain as a UNESCO Global Geopark. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The northern slope of Mount Paektu as seen from the western trail of China's Jilin province, June 12. Due to the mountain’s unpredictable high-altitude weather, the crater lake is only visible for about 100 days a year. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The crater lake of Mount Paektu remains frozen as seen from the western slope in China's Jilin province, June 12. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
People in North Korean territory walk in the eastern slope area of Mount Paektu’s crater lake, seen from China's Jilin province, June 12. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul