Telling Lyrical Stories with Photographs in Mexico City with @seojups

For more of SeoJu’s photography, follow @seojups on Instagram.

“I know that some day, music and the images I see in my head will collide into something greater,” says 21-year-old Mexico City photographer SeoJu Park (@seojups), who has been singing since the age of nine. “I started with classical music and found out I had a strong and heavy voice for an Asian. I always believed I was meant to be born in the 1960s as a black woman, where my voice would fit my looks,” she laughs. SeoJu’s interest in music was sparked by a tragic experience. “Music for me was a way to cope with the burden of losing people at an early age,” says SeoJu, whose best friend died when she was only 10 years old. “We would wake up really early and pretend to be singers. She sang beautifully and her dream was to become a big star. After she passed away, I think music became a goal, or something I had to do. Suddenly, singing came easy.”

Born to Korean parents — her father is an Olympic Taekwondo trainer and her mother is an artist — SeoJu feels more Mexican than Korean. Nowadays, she’s come to appreciate her multicultural upbringing. “When I was little, it was kind of hard to understand why I was different. Not only physically, but in the way I thought about things. Now, it’s a true gift. The clash of cultures is an opportunity for knowledge.” Being a global citizen means many opportunities for travel, and SeoJu is often on the road. However, she has discovered she is more interested in capturing emotion than physical places. “It’s more about the light and the experiences. Whether it’s on the road or not, it can be just a feeling or a moment you’re having. I believe that the way to get great shots is not just about the backdrop, but more about the experience. The feelings you felt, the stories you heard, the culture and the people. Most of all, the people.”

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