Photojournalist's take on Afghanistan's brief breath of freedom

Afghan women -- some of them wearing burqas and others wearing a hijab -- gather on top of a building next to the Sakhi shrine on Nowruz, or the first day of the Persian New Year, on March 21, 2007. Photo by Jean Chung

A perspective is like a compass. It cannot be bought, but is developed and refined over time.

Jean Chung's identity as a Korean woman from a former colonized country shaped her passion for photography. As a photojournalist focused on violence against women and gender equality amid conflict, she aimed to use her unique perspective to capture images that convey empathy for vulnerable communities.

This perspective was likely shaped during her year in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007, a period of relative freedom for women and children following the Taliban’s departure from Kabul. The Taliban’s return to power on Aug. 15, 2021, coincidentally Korea's Independence Day, marked a stark reversal of those gains.

"Koreans who experienced colonization and war naturally develop a deep empathy for the oppressed. I aimed to capture the nuanced perspective that a Korean woman from a formerly colonized nation can offer, reflecting a profound connection with the oppressed," the 53-year-old said.

Looking back, it was a gamble in her life — she bought a one-way ticket to Afghanistan, seeking deeper answers about her photojournalism career after graduating from Missouri Graduate School of Journalism and working six years for The Korea Times in New York before returning to Seoul.

Twenty-two photos out of the tens of thousands she took during that year is on exhibit at Kote Gallery through Aug. 20 in Insa-dong, Seoul. Her new book, "When Afghans Took a Breath of Freedom: A Photojournalist's Journey in the Country from 2006 to 2007," is also be available at the exhibit. Since publishing her first essay book, "A Photographer in Kabul," and two others in Korean, she had been eagerly anticipating the release of this photo-intensive book.

Abdul Rahim, the headmaster of Bazarak School, shows a bombed site in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan in 2006. Someone placed a small bomb in the back of the school building as a warning to girls not to go to school. Photo by Jean Chung

"Dusty winds swirled on a dirt road from the airport. Rows of men on the sidewalk wearing scarves and shalwar-kameeze tried to approach the car I was riding in as they mildly shook a bundle of phone cards and a wad of Afghani bills in their hands ... I didn't see any women on the street. This was my impression on my first day after arriving in Kabul on Aug. 17, 2006," she wrote in the preface.

She spent her time walking with a translator throughout Afghanistan, capturing the daily lives of its people. "It is hard to walk alone as a woman, and you need a translator anyway for the work," she explained.

She traveled across Afghanistan to take photos in both summer and winter, making the most of her time there. "I took tens of thousands of photos, thinking that I might never be here again," she said. South Koreans were ordered to leave the country following the kidnapping of 23 people from the Asian country in 2007.

When asked if she had seen images of Afghans at Kabul airport desperately trying to flee after the Taliban recaptured the city on Aug. 15, 2021, she responded affirmatively. She however did not feel a strong urge to capture those moments.

"I know how chaotic it was. (But) I am also still a little traumatized by the crowd situation in Afghanistan," she said.

Chung said her quest to go to Afghanistan began with a desire to understand what drove people to commit such acts of violence and sacrifice their lives and those of others following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She had pondered this question during her graduate studies in Columbia, Missouri, and sought answers by traveling to the West Bank, Iran, and the Gaza Strip before finally heading to Afghanistan.

Jean Chung, fourth from left, poses with the local police chief (far right), a policeman, and two residents in Badakshan Province, Afghanistan in 2007.

Asked about what stood out most to her during her stay in Afghanistan, she said it was photographing girls at an elementary and middle school in the Panjshir Valley in northern Afghanistan.

"The area was not so conservative, but there were people who still did not like girls receiving education. A small bomb exploded on a school compound, partially damaging it. But the girls risked their lives to attend school and spend time with friends, which are activities that are taken for granted in South Korea. Even the female teachers came. I was so proud of them," Chung said.

In her new book, which includes over 200 photos, Chung highlights the sharp decline in literacy rates during the Taliban's rule from 1996 to 2001 — 45 percent for men and just 17 percent for women. The book also features images of kite-flying and bodybuilding men competing in the Mr. Kabul Contest at Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, a venue previously used by the Taliban for public executions.

Since leaving Afghanistan, Chung has continued her work in Africa, focusing on women's rights and the impact of war and conflict. She traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, addressing issues such as maternal mortality — Sierra Leone having the highest rate globally and Afghanistan the second highest. Her coverage of maternal mortality in Afghanistan earned her the Grand Prix at the CARE Humanitaire Reportage in Perpignan, France, in 2007. In 2008, she received the inaugural Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award in Perpignan for her photo series on sexual violence in the DRC.

Jean Chung wears a burqa, which women had to wear to cover head to toe, at a burqa shop in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2006.

"Those recognitions were one of the best moments in my life," she said, that allowed her to work in Africa and also now in South Korea. She also works to bridge solidarity between women in Africa and Korea. "I'm pleased that donations from Korean women have consistently supported African women in need, an effort often overlooked by the Western press."

In 2014, she revisited the DRC, and in the ensuing years went onto Uganda and Nigeria before the COVID-19 pandemic blockaded much of the world.

"I believe we need more voices and stories of the oppressed and vulnerable from photographers who come from formerly oppressed and colonized nations. Out in the field, most photographers are from France, Italy, the United States, Japan — countries with colonial histories — and they are predominantly male," she said.

Asked why she chose such a challenging path, Chung admitted she occasionally reflects on it herself. Graduating from prestigious institutions like Seoul National University, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Missouri School of Journalism, Chung is not from a generation that directly experienced the oppression, forced labor, sexual slavery, or wars that Korea endured in the past. Yet she remains close enough to the generations that did.

"If a person wanted to live a comfortable life, they surely would not live as I do. But it was my passion for photography."

A passion for creating impactful photos drives her, but it's the empathy in her work that stands out.

"I want to produce images that truly touch people's hearts, both visually and socioeconomically. My goal is to create photographs that reflect history and provide aesthetic pleasure to viewers," she said.

Now, she is turning her focus to photo stories on women's rights within South Korea. She expressed that if Korean unification were to happen, she would have meaningful work ahead. For the exhibit, she plans to invite one or two families who fled Afghanistan in August 2021 and have since settled in South Korea. Some of the proceeds from her new book will be donated to NGOs, including Amnesty International.