'Escape from Sanaa': A Korean's clandestine photo project in Yemen brought to light

A Yemeni man is captured in this photo taken by Lim Ji-hoon in 2009 at Central Souq al-Mil. A brief poem that is paired with the photo reads: "I am one of the 15 percent of Yemeni men who don't chew khat." Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing

Like a covert agent on secret mission, author embarks on a photography project in the Yemeni capital to chronicle the war-struck people

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Lim Ji-hoon spent 33 years as an executive in charge of sales and marketing for a mid-sized Korean company involved in oil and natural gas projects in the Middle East. That job gave him rare access to the region that few Koreans had explored because of travel restrictions.

Until three years ago when he retired from his life-time job, Lim traveled back and forth between Korea and countries like Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Iran, to name a few, and worked with staff from partner companies for weeks at a time.

Intrigued by the exotic landscape and local culture, Lim, now 60, said he found himself longing to chronicle the locals and their war-struck living conditions through photography.

His dream of capturing images of the locals and their lifestyles met an obstacle as some Middle Eastern countries prohibit foreigners from taking photographs. Photojournalists were an exception, only allowed once they obtained a permit that had been issued by the host government.

The clash between his desire to visually record the Middle East and the repressive local laws, however, didn't stop him from moving forward. Driven by curiosity, then the adventurous business executive secretly took photos in some of the countries. His brave actions, however, went futile. In some countries like Iran, his cameras were seized or film rolls were destroyed by local officials after they were discovered.

But Lim's photos taken in Yemen in 2009 managed to evade the watchful eyes of local officials and he was able to bring them home.

"Yemen: A Country Built on Winds from the Arabian Peninsula" by Lim Ji-hoon

His decade-old photos were finally brought to light following years of his energetic pitches made to the Seoul-based Noonbit Publishing Co.

His poetry-photography book titled, "Yemen: A Country Built on Winds from the Arabian Peninsula," was published earlier this month and is available for sale online and in local bookstores.

The 179-page book contains his photos taken in Yemen's capital Sanaa amid heightened terror alerts issued after a suicide bombing attack took place targeting foreign tourists, including four South Koreans, and are paired with his brief thoughts of the images in the form of poems.

Lim Ji-hoon, center, wearing a pink T-shirt, poses with Libyan staff who worked with him while he was in African country for business in 2005. Lim is a business executive-turned-author of the poetry-photography book, "Yemen: A Country Built on Winds from the Arabian Peninsula." Courtesy of Lim Ji-hoon

For Lim, "Yemen" is reminiscent of the nerve-racking last day of his trip to the Middle Eastern country. He confessed that he had been uneasy all day when he went to Central Souq al-Mil, a bustling market area of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, for the photo project.

"Back in 2009, Yemen was still chaotic and at civil war with intermittent armed conflicts between the North and South. And terrorist group al-Qaeda was still there, too," he said.

On top of the political instability, Lim hit the market a day after another suicide bombing attack on a car carrying South Korean diplomats occurred on a highway en route to the airport. It was the second suicide bombing attack on South Koreans by al-Qaeda members. The first one that killed four South Korean tourists in Sanaa happened on March 16.

"I thought the photo project could cost me my life because I was a non-Muslim foreigner and what I was trying to do was illegal in that country," he said.

But he said he felt the urge to go ahead with it because he knew it could be his last opportunity to capture images of the country and its people living in constant danger of war and terrorism.

"Between 2006 and 2009, I had been to Yemen many times on business trips because then my company was involved in a natural gas project there in collaboration with a French company," he said.

"But I was unable to find time to take photos of the locals, partly because doing so was banned for foreigners like me and partly because I signed a contract with the French company which required me not to leave the designated areas on my own will. If breached, I would take full responsibility for my actions."

In the event that he breached the contract, and his safety was endangered as a result, Lim said, he was required to compensate any and all financial damage incurred by the French company. He eventually came to have a few hours of free time on his last day there because his company's joint project was over and the contract had ended.

Three children pose while eating bread on a step in Central Souq al-Mil in Sanaa, Yemen. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing

He embarked on his photography project like a covert agent on a secret operation code-named "Escape from Sanna" as he had to get things done within three hours, enduring immense pressure as he tried to evade detection. The nail-biting moments continued until he left Yemen.

Waking up early in the morning, he grabbed a cab and was dropped off at Central Souq al-Mil.

The local vendors' and passengers' reactions to the stranger were mixed: Some brushed him off and gave the stranger the cold shoulder, while some welcomed him and shared hot tea.

Feeling pressured as time was running out, he said he kept pressing the shutter of his camera to take photos of his subjects. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., he hurriedly captured nearly 300 images of the poor but lively market, including children with innocent smiles, locals sharing meals, and men intoxicated with khat, a local plant that is used as a stimulant.

Heaving a sigh of relief as he was able to get all the photos he wanted during such a limited time, he headed back to his hotel, grabbed his prepacked luggage and headed directly to the airport. His plane was scheduled to leave at 2 p.m. Nerve-racking moments continued during the departure process as he feared he could lose his camera and film reels if caught. A real relief came to him when he found himself aboard the airplane heading to Oman, from where he would board a transfer flight to South Korea.

Under this photo featuring a Yemeni man walking outside a poor housing area, poet-photographer Lim Ji-hoon wrote: "I never step back, even though my enemy is light." Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing

Discussing his book, Lim said he was intrigued by the "odd calmness and serenity" among some locals he found on his way to the airport.

"I saw two women selling eggs near the airport. They looked like sisters and were giggling while chatting. Their carefree, happy chatter came as a surprise to me, because it was a day after the devastating suicide bombing attack right there. It seemed to them like nothing had happened," he said.

Lim's lingering question of the unknown source of their optimism is reflected in his poetry that is paired with the photo featuring the two women selling eggs. It reads, "What on earth made them have such smiling faces despite the tragic bombing attack? Is it the Quran that helped them clear the horrific memories of the suicide bombing attack from their heads? Or were they born optimists?"

Lim had his own interpretation of poetry-photography. Some poems he wrote underneath their respective photos taken in Yemen tell the stories of Korea, Koreans and wisdom he learned from his life experiences. In one photo, for example, a Yemeni boy plays a handmade instrument made of a string and cardboard box in the corner of a store. Under the photo, Lim writes a poem of an unnamed opportunistic woman who uses men as a stepping stone for her own success.

Asked about the alleged mismatch of his photography and poetry, Lim explained that the pair is an example showing his definition of what a poetry photography should be.

"The poem is about one thing and the photo captures a subject that has nothing to do with the poem. But once they are put together, they make sense and create a whole new meaning. This is my definition of poetry photography," he said.

Lim retired from his life-time career at the company in 2018. He has written poetry and essays since he was a university student and some of them were published.

"Yemen" is his second poetry-photography work published years after his first one called "Mount Bukhan."

Two Yemeni women talk to each other while selling eggs. Courtesy of Noonbit Publishing