Women in Photojournalism: Yunghi Kim
March 17, 2023
Yunghi Kim is a photojournalist who has told intimate stories and revealed conflicts through her photos globally for more than three decades.
Life and Career
Kim was born in South Korea and lived there until age 10 when she moved to the United States. In 1984, she graduated from Boston University and became the first female photographer at The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. She then went on to work for The Boston Globe for seven years. Kim was a member of Contact Press Images in 1995 to 2008 and is now a Special Contributor. A big launching moment in her career occurred when documenting the famine in Somalia of 1992 for The Globe. After she and a reporter were held hostage and put in captivity by warlord Siad Hersey Morgan, the United Nations intervened and rescued her. Only a few days after being rescued, Kim bravely returned to Somalia to complete her assignment. Her coverage of the famine ultimately earned a place as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize that year.
One of Kim’s proudest and most personal works remains her photographs of former South Korean Comfort Women. Her website details this stating, “These women, now grandmothers, were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during its occupation of Korea during World War II. In 1996 her photo essay was published all over the world and helped introduce the Comfort Women to the West. After publication, the Japanese government eventually issued a verbal apology to South Korea which included a promise to account for this atrocity for historic purposes in Japanese historical texts. Her work was the first intimate, behind the scenes profile of the grandmothers.”
Legacy
Kim’s ongoing career paves space for other young photojournalists, especially women. After being asked about her experience with stereotypes she exclaimed, “I find myself paradoxically energized by anyone who doubts my ability. I have always used that to motivate me to prove naysayers wrong…Once people saw my photographs, my skin color — and my gender — mattered less. That increased my confidence and competitiveness. Minority women are a force to be reckoned with because we were the underdogs, which meant we’re inherently tougher and grittier. We try harder! Watch out!”
Kim also continues to support photojournalists and formed the Yunghi Grant to pay it forward. For this she was 2016 recipient of NPPA’s The Clifton Edom Award that recognized an “individual who inspire and motivate members of the photojournalism community to reach new heights.”
Quote
“Our experience and our lives have been rich; our memories too. We are defined by our work, and the craft of our storytelling, less so by the public inflating of it.”