Cruel Beauty: Finding History, Mourning, and Light in Jeju’s Black Basalt

Photographer PARK YOUNG KYUN has been awarded the Silver Award in the Black & White & Fine Art Photography category at the Best Photography Award UK 2025 Season 1 for his evocative and contemplative work, Cruel Beauty.

Set on South Korea’s Jeju Island, the photograph draws from both natural beauty and historical sorrow. The island, often praised for its landscapes, also carries the heavy memory of the April 3, 1948 uprising—a tragic event that left lasting scars on its people. For PARK YOUNG KYUN, Jeju’s black basalt rock—commonly used in traditional fences and architecture—became a visual and emotional metaphor for this duality.

“Behind the beauty that is commonly seen, there is deep sadness and a sense of loss,” PARK reflects. Cruel Beauty stands out not for its subject alone, but for its masterful interplay of light and shadow. In black and white photography, PARK explains, the emotional tone is often shaped less by the object and more by how it is seen. “With the right light, a beautiful screen emerges—flowing between presence and absence.”

For PARK, photography is both a record and a reflection. “Reality disappears quickly. Photography gives us a way to hold onto it, not just visually, but emotionally. It becomes a means of memory.” He hopes Cruel Beauty encourages viewers to find meaning not only in extraordinary scenes, but in quiet, everyday life. “Beauty,” he says, “is always around us. A photographer’s role is to notice—and to preserve it.”

1. Could you share the background and setting of this award-winning photo?

Jeju Island has a lot of meaning in Korean history. The historical event on April 3, 1948, left deep scars on the Jeju people. The black basalt rock that can be seen in abundance in Jeju, which embraces beautiful nature, symbolizes the history of Jeju Island and the sorrow of its people and is itself an object of mourning.

2. What emotion or message were you hoping to convey through this photograph?

Jeju is a beautiful island, but it also contains a sense of mourning and loss. The black basalt in Jeju is often used as a fence in the island's traditional houses and fields. Behind the beauty that is commonly seen, there is deep sadness and a sense of loss.

3. Is there a particular detail in this photo that you especially love?

Black and white photography, implemented with an appropriate amount of light, creates a beautiful screen with the flow of light and shadow rather than the subject.

4. Did you have any specific inspiration or artistic concept in mind during the creation?

The important thing in photography is not where the subject is or what it is, but how to look at it. Photography conveys the reality of the moment at the same time, reality will soon disappear, so I work with the role of capturing it and as a means of memory, reflecting it in a more intimate reality.

5. What do you hope viewers will feel or reflect upon when they see this photo?

I want to convey that beauty is not somewhere specific, but always exists in our daily lives. I think a photographer is someone who captures such moments.