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Choi Won-suk

Korea Times Photo Reporter

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.

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2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begin

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. AP Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. AP 2022 Beijing Olympics - Opening Ceremony - National Stadium, Beijing, China - February 4, 2022. Performers during the opening ceremony. REUTERS Dancers perform during the pre-show ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. AP Children perform in the pre-show during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. AP  An overview of the stadium ahead of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, on February 4, 2022. AFP The Chinese national flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. AP Spring is spelled out in fireworks over Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, F

Feb 4, 2022By Choi Won-suk
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begin
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Daily life in Beijing as 2022 Winter Olympics kick off

A child practices ice hockey near the Beijing Olympics Tower in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics is tapping into and encouraging growing interest among Chinese in skiing, skating, hockey and other previously unfamiliar winter sports. It's also creating new business opportunities. AP People skate on a frozen canal in Beijing, China, 28 January 2022. China is scheduled to host the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in February, making its capital the first city in the world to host both Summer (2008) and Winter Olympics (2022).  EPA Chinese children skate near The Central Radio & TV Tower in Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. The Chinese authorities have been encouraging its people to take up winter sports in the run up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. AP School children warm up before ski lessons at the Vanke Shijinglong Ski Resort in Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. AP A woman using a plastic bag as a cover walks outside the Beijing railway station in Beijing on

Jan 31, 2022By Choi Won-suk
Daily life in Beijing as 2022 Winter Olympics kick off
Photo News

PHOTOS What's vanishing with urban redevelopment

An alley is lifeless after local residents moved out of their homes, in the Naeson-dong neighborhood of Uiwang City, Gyeonggi Province, to make way for an urban redevelopment project in this February 2020 photo. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukBy Kang Hyun-kyungDecades-old homes have been abandoned. Without the sounds of people and the warmth created by neighbors who’ve known one another for decades interacting with each other, the buildings now lie derelict, exposed to the elements. Alleys, once bustling with pedestrians walking by and children playing, have lost their vitality, now that the residents have all moved out to make way for large-scale urban redevelopment. The last eviction order for the area came about a year ago. The small urban district of Naeson-dong, on the edge of the landlocked city of Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, is now bleak and gloomy. The old neighborhood will soon undergo a major facelift, with construction of a massive apartment complex that can house up to 3,000 households. Once the new residents move into the newly completed high-rises, the district w

Jan 28, 2022By Choi Won-suk
What's vanishing with urban redevelopment [PHOTOS]
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Celebrating Lunar New Year amid the ongoing pandemic

Divers dressed in a 'God of Fortune' (R) and lion dance (L) costume look at a turtle while performing inside the 'Aquaria KLCC' aquarium ahead Chinese New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21 January 2022. The Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival in China, falls on 01 February in 2022, marking the beginning of the Year of the Tiger.  EPA Hainan Tiger Dance is performed ahead of the Chinese Lunar Year of Tiger at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. AP Residents past by a giant decoration for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, depicting a tiger which is the 2022 sign according to the Chinese Zodiac in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. AP This aerial photo taken on January 21, 2022 shows people visiting a market ahead of the Lunar New Year, which marks the Year of the Tiger, in Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province. AFP A resident makes lanterns ahead of the Lunar New Year in Surabaya on January 21, 2022, as Asian communities around the world will welcome the Year of the Tiger on February 1. AFP&nbsp

Jan 26, 2022By Choi Won-suk
Celebrating Lunar New Year amid the ongoing pandemic
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Daily life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule

 A family prepares tea outside the Directorate of Disaster office where they are camped, in Herat, Afghanistan, on Nov. 29, 2021. UN World Food Program top official Mary-Ellen McGroarty says Afghanistan is facing a "tsunami of hunger," with the country on the verge of economic collapse and more than half of the population struggling to eat this winter. In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 the WFP leader in Afghanistan urged the international community to separate political discussions from the humanitarian imperative by making sure the billions in aid that are required to avoid a disaster keep reaching the country, which is being run by the Taliban. AP A man distributes bread to Burka-wearing Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec, 2, 2021. AP Afghan men walk in a market area during a snowfall in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 3, 2022. REUTERS An Afghan woman walks on the street during a snowfall in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 3, 2022. REUTERS A boy rides a bicycle near houses on a hillside in Bamiyan,

Jan 14, 2022By Choi Won-suk
Daily life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule
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How snow looks around the world

A man wipes out while sledding in the snow near the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Washington DC metro region received between 2 and 4 inches of snow overnight. AFP A boy uses a sling to lob snowballs in Kabul on January 5, 2022. AFP Trams drive through a snow-covered street in Helsinki, Finland, 05 January 2022. EPA Wisps of snow blow across E. Guth Road between Washington and Eureka, Ill., on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. AP People visit Sensoji Temple of Tokyo while it snows on January 6, 2022. AFP A person walks in the snow in Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. AP An umbrella is left on a table at Hamacho Park as it snows in Tokyo on January 6, 2022. AFP  A pedestrian walks holding an umbrella as snow falls near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on January 6, 2022. AP People drive on a street in the snowfall, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan January 6, 2022. REUTERS A man carries his dog as a snow plow crew passes by on the street in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 07 Januar

Jan 10, 2022By Choi Won-suk
How snow looks around the world
  • Up to 3 cm of snow forecast for Seoul overnight
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Entering third year of pandemic

Victor Tripiana, 86, reaches out to touch the hand of his daughter-in-law, Silvia Fernandez Sotto, separated by a plastic sheet to prevent the spread of COVID-19, at the Reminiscencias residence for the elderly in Tandil, Argentina, on April 4, 2021. AP Kian Navales poses at home in Quezon city, Philippines, on July 6, 2021, holding a pillow with a photo on it of his late father, Arthur, who died from COVID-19. Navales, who also had the virus, says he misses going out for noodles with his dad. AP The body of a man who died of COVID-19 lies in a coffin at the morgue of the city hospital in Rivne, Ukraine, on Oct. 22, 2021. AP A decedent who passed on due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is pushed inside a crematory to be cremated by the Farmington Funeral Home in Farmington, New Mexico, U.S., December 13, 2021. Reuters A man runs to escape the heat from multiple funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims at a crematorium on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on April 29, 2021. AP A coffin is placed in a grave at 9 Mile Cemetery during a mass burial of at least 54

Jan 6, 2022By Choi Won-suk
Entering third year of pandemic
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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

A girl watches a diver clad in a Santa Claus outfit during an event to promote the upcoming Christmas holiday at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. Christmas is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in South Korea. AP A child looks at Santa, who wears a face shield to protect against coronavirus, at a shopping mall in Johannesburg, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. AP An aerial picture taken with a drone shows the main square and Christmas market in Wroclaw, Poland, 10 December 2021. EPA Choristers rehearse in Lichfield Cathedral as they prepare to perform in the Christmas by Candlelight Concert, in Lichfield, Britain December 11, 2021. Reuters Choristers perform in the Christmas by Candlelight Concert in Lichfield Cathedral, in Lichfield, Britain December 11, 2021. Picture taken December 11, 2021. Reuters Choristers relax in Lichfield Cathedral before they perform in the Christmas by Candlelight Concert, in Lichfield, Britain December 11, 2021. Picture taken December 11, 2021. Reuters People attend the lightening ceremony of Turin's o

Dec 14, 2021By Choi Won-suk
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
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Deadly tornadoes devastate towns in six states

Mike Castle hugs his daughter Nikki Castle after locating the father-daughter necklace he meant to gift to Nikki for Christmas, after the tornado in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, U.S. December 11, 2021. Reuters Tornado damage is seen after extreme weather hit the region December 12, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky. - Dozens of devastating tornadoes roared through five US states overnight, leaving more than 80 people dead Saturday in what President Joe Biden said was "one of the largest" storm outbreaks in history. AFP A woman searches for valuables amidst the remnants of a home on Saturday, Dec.11, 2021, on Highway F in Defiance, Mo. tornadoes and severe weather caused catastrophic damage across multiple states late Friday. AP A large semi trailer is flipped over and pushed against a building in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Tornadoes and severe weather caused catastrophic damage across multiple states late Friday, killing at least six people overnight as a storm system tore through a candle factory in Kentucky, an Amazon facility in Illinois and a nursing ho

Dec 13, 2021By Choi Won-suk
Deadly tornadoes devastate towns in six states
Photo News

PHOTOS Haenyeo with big grins

Diving for family: A woman diver lugs a bag of shellfish she gathered from the seabed. She has shouldered the burden of being a breadwinner to support her family. Courtesy of Yang Jong-hoonBy Kang Hyun-kyung“When you discover abalone while diving down into the sea, go for it. But if you see it while swimming up to the water’s surface, don’t even think about it.”This is a common safety tip among haenyeo, or the women divers of Jeju Island. Depending on each diver’s capacity, these women hold their breath for a minute or so while gathering shellfish under the sea. Around the time they ascend to the water’s surface, they have almost reached their physical limit. So if they are distracted by a small gain on their way to the surface, they could lose much more -- their life.A woman diver swims up to the water’s surface with an octopus in hand. Courtesy of Yang Jong-hoonEach time they descend beneath the waves, they risk their lives. This potentially fatal nature of their profession makes the haenyeo stay alert at all times while working. They rarel

Dec 10, 2021By Choi Won-suk
Haenyeo with big grins [PHOTOS]
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