Czechs present award-winning photographs

By Kim Se-jeong

A photo, like a picture, is worth a thousand words.

That’s especially true when photo journalists try to tell a story through their camera lens.

Last Tuesday, the Czech Embassy opened up an exhibition, presenting 38 award-winning photos taken by Central European photo journalists, mainly Czechs, Slovakians and other nationals working in those countries.

They were the winners of the Czech Press Photo, a 15-year-old annual contest.

They have captured moments of grief, sorry, joy and happiness in people’s lives across the world. Among them are four photos taken in North Korea by Jan Zatorsky, a Czech photographer.

One photo captured a female traffic controller in uniform, standing in the middle of an empty road. Another photo has a gigantic statue of Kim Il-sung with people bowing to him.

Selections of the photos on display also offer a glimpse into the taste of Jaroslav Olsa, Jr., the ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea.

“My selection was made not so much on the winning photographs, but I wanted to show the real variety of photographic styles as well as topics. To show the photographs which were really up to date and connected with the events happening then, as well as photos which could be seen anytime not connected to the date when they were made,” he told The Korea Times via email.

Also, “my selection was very much intuitive, I wanted the wide variety, but also I was influenced by topics — as there is a logical interest in North Korea here, and I enclosed a set of Zatorsky’s photos from there — and photographers.”

Hynek Adamek is a photographer for the National Geographic Czech, and the two collaborated on a 10-page-long National Geographic article in 2004 about Western Zambia.

The ambassador is also acquainted with Jan Sibik, the best known Czech photo journalist.

They first met while traveling in Rwanda in 1994 right after the genocide. The two then traveled together to Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1999 and to Angola in 2001.

At the opening, Olsa introduced Lee Yong-hwan, who was recently appointed as a new member of the international jury by the Czech Press Photo.

“He will be the first Korean to become a member of the international jury, and above all, the first photographer from Asia,” Olsa said.

Lee served as director for the Daegu Photo Biennale last year, and is now president of the Society of Korean Photography.

The exhibition is taking place at the Czech Information Center, and will stay open through March. 19.

For more information about the exhibition, visit www.czechinfo.or.kr or www.mzv.cz/seoul.