Framing Seoul: LEE JAEPHIL – SUWOLHADA’s Gold Award in Architectural & Urban Photography – Cityscapes
Photographer LEE JAEPHIL – SUWOLHADA brings together architecture, emotion, and urban rhythm in his Gold Award–winning work A Vast Frame, and Seoul Within. Captured at the National Museum of Korea, the photograph precisely frames Namsan Tower through the museum’s monumental opening, symbolizing a city poised between history and modernity. Taken during a calm afternoon, the softened light transformed the vast concrete structure into a serene, contemplative space.
What completes the composition, and what LEE finds most meaningful, are the small figures resting on the wide steps below—tiny yet essential. Their presence reveals the heart of his artistic intent: to show how people animate monumental spaces and give cities their warmth and meaning. Through this work, he invites viewers to sense the balance between human vulnerability and strength, reminding us that even amid overwhelming architecture, it is our presence that defines the soul of the city.
Q: Could you share the background and setting of this award-winning photo?
LEE: ''The photo was taken at the National Museum of Korea, one of Seoul’s most iconic architectural landmarks. Through the museum’s vast frame, I aligned Namsan Tower perfectly at the center — a visual metaphor for Seoul itself, suspended between history and modernity. The image was captured during a calm afternoon when the sunlight softened the concrete edges, turning a monumental space into something almost meditative.''
Q: Is there a particular detail in this photo that you especially love?
LEE: ''The tiny figures resting on the wide steps beneath the structure. They seem almost insignificant compared to the scale of the building, yet their quiet presence completes the composition. It reminds me that architecture becomes alive only through the people who inhabit it.''
Q: Did you have any specific inspiration or artistic concept in mind during the creation?
LEE: ''I wanted to explore the coexistence of structure and emotion — how monumental architecture frames human life, and how people, in turn, bring warmth and meaning to these cold, vast spaces. The photo is both a study of geometry and an emotional portrait of urban stillness.''
Q: What do you hope viewers will feel or reflect upon when they see this photo?
LEE: ''I hope they sense the balance between human smallness and inner strength — that even in overwhelming spaces, our presence gives scale, life, and rhythm to the city. It’s a quiet reminder that we are not lost within the city’s vastness; we are what defines it. Is there a particular detail in this photo that you especially love?
The tiny figures resting on the wide steps beneath the structure. They seem almost insignificant compared to the scale of the building, yet their quiet presence completes the composition. It reminds me that architecture becomes alive only through the people who inhabit it.''
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