Song Young-Sook’s interest in photography began during her college years, where she found her passion as a photographer. Her enthusiasm for photography ultimately led her to become a passionate collector and a founder of the very first fine art photography specialized museum in Korea.

She founded Gahyun Cultural Foundation in 2002 and opened Museum Hanmi (former Museum of Photography) in 2003 in Seoul, where she presents not only her own collection but also runs exhibition programs. More than 130 exhibitions have been held in the museum in the last 20 years and two museum-affiliated publishers have published numerous catalogues of Korean and international fine art photographers and theoretical books on photography.

Her efforts for establishing a fine art photography museum in Korea was acknowledged by receiving the Order of Culture and Arts Merit, the Chevalier, from the French government in 2017 and she also received Okgwan, the Order of Cultural Merit by the Korean government in 2023.

Song Young-Sook began to collect photos by Korean artists, but afterwards she broadened her interests in international artists' fine art photography.

She is an enthusiastic collector of Yosef Kudelka’s works, who is well known for his Gypsy series and she has also collected many renowned artists’ oeuvre that constitutes important parts of modern and contemporary photography.

Her collection includes works by Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Ansel Adams, Walker Evans, Irving Penn, Candida Höfer, Cindy Sherman and many Korean artists including Koo Bohn-chang, Lee Sang-hyun, Min Byung-hun, Ko Myung-keun, Chun Kyung-woo, Han Sung-pil, Lim Eung-sik, Yuk Myung-shim, Hong Soon-tae, Han Jung-sik, Kim Ki- chan, Hwang Kyu-tae, Joo Myung-duck, Park Young-sook and Kang Woon-gu.

Her collection can be categorized into three categories: photography, which addresses modern history in Korea, Korean artists’ fine art photography, and photography which depicts international historical issues.

What is one of the most treasured artworks which is displayed in your favorite place to view?
IRVING PENN, Cigarette, No. 37, New York, 1972. It is hung in my office for a longer time.

Would you recommend photography museums abroad that you have visited and were impressed by?
1) Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum in China
2) Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland
3) Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark

Would you name any fine art photographers, whom you recently discovered and whose works you have been following?
Michael Lundgren and Mo Shah

Would you recommend catalogues and books for those, who would like to discover Korean fine art photographers and get to know about photography in Korea?
I would recommend exhibition catalogues of our museum-affiliated publishers, from which you can get a broad overview and comprehend the whole fine art photography history in Korea.

For more information visit Museum Hanmi.