[INTERVIEW] French military photographer snaps away in Busan

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Thu, December 7, 2023 | 00:08

World Expo 2030

INTERVIEWFrench military photographer snaps away in Busan

Posted : 2023-04-21 17:10

Updated : 2023-04-23 15:53

Thomas Goisque, right, photographs Busan Port while working on a project for Le Figaro covering Seoul and Busan, April 11. Courtesy of Renault Korea Motors

Thomas Goisque photographs city looking to host World Expo 2030

By Ko Dong-hwan

It was the first time world-renowned French photographer Thomas Goisque visited Korea, with a project to snap photos of Busan and promote the southern port city's bid to host the World Expo 2030.

Despite his unfamiliarity with Busan, with the help of the city government and Renault Korea Motors sponsoring his project, the award-winning photographer hustled across the biggest port city in Korea earlier this month with his camera in his hands.

"There were so many highways (across ocean waters) in Busan so you see a lot of nice things but you couldn't stop to take pictures," Goisque told The Korea Times at a Renault Korea Motors office in Seoul. "It was quite difficult. I had to rather find smaller streets to take good pictures."

Describing himself as a hunter motivated by feelings to find a good place for shooting, Goisque first surveyed local venues well-known to tourists before coming back later to actually shoot for the project.

Thomas Goisque followed the French military all over the world for years. This career led him to become a globally-recognized landscape photographer. Courtesy of Thomas Goisque

He visited Jagalchi Market (a long-standing street seafood market), the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (a Buddhism temple flanking an ocean cliff) and mega seaports. He watched fireworks over Gwangalli Bridge, displayed by the city government to impress eight officials from the Bureau International des Expositions' Enquiry Mission who were in the city from April 4 to 7 for an on-site inspection to study the city's feasibility in hosting the Expo.

Goisque, 54, brought only minimum gear to Korea. He was no longer physically strong enough to carry gear such as flashlights, a ladder and a drone during his field action. All he carried during this latest tour was the Nikon Z9 digital camera and extra lenses stashed in two khaki duffle bags ―altogether price-tagged around $13,000. He had high respect for the brand that he has stuck with for more than 35 years.

"I was once in Sudan, where the temperature was some 50 degrees Celsius high. About one week later, I went to Yakutia in Siberia. It was minus 50 degree Celsius there. The temperature gap made me exhausted. But my camera worked just fine through the whole trip," said Goisque. "I dream of having a Leica someday, the Rolls-Royce for cameras."

After finishing his two-year military service that included his participation in the Bosnian War, Goisque followed the French Army across the world as a military photographer and visited over 100 countries where it was engaged in operations.

Ships, crane towers and containers make up one of the pictures of Busan Port taken by Thomas Goisque on April 11. Courtesy of Thomas Goisque

His footprints are well preserved on his webpage, where pictures from his decades-old career are categorized. He was in Vladivostok a few years ago, where he got a glimpse of the northern part of North Korea.

Goisque saw his professional journey around the globe as irrelevant to the French government's ongoing diplomatic relationships with different countries. French President Emmanuel Macron said last July he endorsed Saudi Arabia's Riyadh over Busan, Italy's Rome and Ukraine's Odesa as the hosting city for the World Expo 2030. That did not deter him from coming to Korea this time ― with his specific project designed to promote Busan's Expo hosting bid to the world.

"You know, journalists are not with the government. They do what they want. I am here to speak about Seoul and Busan. But we don't make national decisions. We can write and show well about Busan. But that is politics and it's not my job," Goisque said.

Hailing from Compiegne, about 100 kilometers north of Paris, this lover of motorcycles and father of five children plans to visit the Himalayas following Korea.

"I will climb the mountain as far as a motorcycle can carry me up to," he said.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr