Humans of Jeju

Saramson Community is a cultural and arts planning organization based in Samdo-dong, Jeju City. It discovers local content from Jeju’s villages and transforms it into festivals, performances, and artistic programs. Sunyoung Hong founded the company in 2020 and has continued to lead projects that bring vitality to daily life through art created together with village residents. In particular, in Dwi...

Three musicians active in Jeju's classical music scene come together on one stage. They are connected through Jeju Doremi, a collective of classical artists, and have each developed their work by engaging with both music and the local community. Eunhye Ji produces original musicals in Seogwipo and works closely with child performers. Jungwon Choi, a cellist and artistic director, leads youth o...

Based in Gosan-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju, photographer Hong Lin runs the "Slow Photo Studio," where she cherishes the kind of slowness photography can bring to a fast-moving life. She takes portraits of travelers and sends them by post, offering a moment of memory that returns just as it begins to fade. Originally trained in science and engineering, she settled in Jeju by following a pat...

Inho Baek is a young farmer in his sixth year of living and working on Jeju Island, after leaving behind a decade-long career in fashion marketing. His journey began with the Camino de Santiago and a year of traveling the world, eventually leading him to settle down in Jeju after helping a friend with their farm. He now runs a brand called Just Jeju, introducing seasonal produce and value-added go...

Kim Hyang-ok is a designated holder of Jeju Nongyo (농요, Nongyo: traditional work songs), Intangible Cultural Asset No. 16 of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. Jeju Nongyo refers to the songs traditionally sung by women while farming, weeding, and pounding grain—songs that reflect the rhythm of communal labor and the everyday life of Jeju. Kim was trained for nearly 30 years by her mother, th...

Miseung Kang, an illustrator and content director, and Hervé Gaillard, a French-born photographer, first met while traveling along the Silk Road in a border town in Kyrgyzstan. Since then, they have traveled together across Europe, Asia, and South America, creating their own rhythm of living—over one year of travel followed by two years of work. Jeju is the first place they chose to settle down to...

Charles is a proud Canadian who settled in Korea in 2006 after visiting his sister, and spent over a decade living in Ulsan before falling in love with Jeju. Now the owner of “Canada Samchoon,” he runs a cozy and character-filled restaurant that he built mostly by himself. Featuring a warm wood stove and unique teak flooring, the space reflects his hands-on approach and personal taste. His menu co...

Lee Kyung-ah started Earth Fountain in Jeju in 2019. Earth Fountain is a campaign where ordinary people—children, housewives, and office workers—come together to find and practice simple ways to care for the environment. Today, more than 90 cafés and restaurants across Jeju participate as refill stations where anyone with a tumbler can get free drinking water. The campaign has grown to include a r...

Danpyunsun is an artist who blends elements of folk, indie rock, and traditional rhythms to craft a distinct musical world. Moving between solo work, the band ‘Danpyunsun and the Sailors,’ and now ‘Danpyunsun Moments,’ he has continued to explore the fluidity of life through music. In 2024, his album Long Live Music won both Album of the Year and Best Modern Rock Album at the Korean Music Awards....

Soohyun Park is a dancer based in Jeju, also working as an educator, cultural arts planner, and director of the Jeju Theater Social Cooperative. She began with traditional Korean dance at a young age and toured internationally, later expanding her practice through collaborations across theater, music, and media arts. Since moving to Jeju, she has focused on creating performances that intertwine Je...

In-gi Shin is the director of Friends of Kim Young-su Library, a nonprofit organization based in Jeju’s old town. The group manages a shared library located within Jeju Buk Elementary School, where the school and the community work together to nurture children. Shin leads various programs, including “Book Bundle” storytelling classes, summer care initiatives, and Jeju language education—turning th...

Lee Duckjong is an architect who seeks to create spaces that breathe with the natural rhythms of Jeju. After starting his career in Seoul, his first project in Aewol led him to settle on the island, where he now runs ARC Studio and focuses on small-scale works such as houses, tea rooms, and pavilions. His time studying sculpture and painting in London shifted his view of architecture toward an art...

Kim Younjin is a young haenyeo who graduated from Hansupul Haenyeo School in 2021 and now dives in Gueom, a coastal village in Aewol, Jeju. Drawn to a life closely connected to the sea, she chose the path of a haenyeo and continues to train herself through the honest and humbling lessons the ocean provides. As one of six haenyeos in Gueom, she faces the rough waves daily, deepening her bond with t...

Hyun Hyeyeon is a Korean traditional dancer currently performing with the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Dance Company. After studying and working in Seoul, she returned to her hometown Jeju to spend more time with her parents. For her, dance became as natural as daily routines, and over time, her focus shifted from technical perfection to creating movement that resonates with space and at...

Subin Byun is a marine environmental activist working to protect the ocean around Jeju. She founded the organization Diphda and leads its overall planning and on-site activities as director. Her work focuses on collecting marine waste, as well as running environmental education and community engagement programs. She follows the low tide schedule and moves along the coast, maintaining her field act...

They began making music together in high school, which naturally led to the formation of their team. As the leader, Suchan writes his own lyrics, expressing personal thoughts and emotions drawn from everyday life. Donggeon performs under the name Jiseul and once participated in a video contest themed around the Jeju April 3rd Incident, winning second prize. The video featured music he composed him...

An artist who preserves Jeju’s disappearing culture through music and art. Growing up surrounded by Jeju’s sea and mountains, she blends traditional haenyeo songs with classical and modern styles. She also explores multimedia art, composing for films and organizing music exhibitions. Her Peace Requiem, set to be performed at the Vatican, commemorates the victims of the Jeju 4.3 Uprising. With her...

Soriquete is a "Flamenco × Traditional Korean Music Crossover Performance Team" formed on Jeju Island by flamenco guitarist Park Seok-jun, soriggun(traditional Korean pansori singer) Jeong Ae-sun, flamenco dancer Choi Yoomi, and percussionist Kim Seong-jin. Their repertoire ranges from authentic flamenco, reinterpreted through the expressive phrasing of the soriggun, to pieces like Saeta...

Eunhae Grace Jung is an eco-artist and art therapist based on Jeju Island. During her teenage years, she moved to Canada, where she developed a deep connection with nature—an experience that shaped her lifelong love for the natural world. Later, she worked as an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital and a youth treatment center in Chicago, USA, witnessing how people enduring their most painful t...

He is a Canadian living in Jeju, and runs a photo and video production company called ‘Reel Steel Productions.’ After moving to Jeju in 2008, he has been learning Korean steadily, and now he can speak not only Korean but also Jeju dialect. He lives in Panpo-ri, Jeju City, and is friends with the local Samchun(elders). Now, no matter what anyone says, he is a real Jeju person!

Heo Jin-young is an eyewear consultant who also introduces modernized Nubi clothing, reinterpreting Korea’s traditional quilted style. Her journey began with a chance encounter with a unique space, which led her to establish the lifestyle shop ‘Heosangjeom’. Named after her own surname, ‘Heosangjeom’ carries a deeper meaning, which is "a place where she thoughtfully curates and introduces products...

Through a process of exploring and questioning the essence of things, she completes her artwork. Using various techniques, she transforms paper into the form of a tree. She has created three series: <Wood Black>, which evokes the image of charred charcoal, <Wood Pixel>, a collection of sculpted pieces that express individuality, <Wood>, where layers of paper are stacked to resemb...

Ahn So Young is a singer-songwriter and jazz vocalist who has been living in Jeju for nine years. She writes and composes songs that capture stories of life, including ‘Jeju Blues’, a song created out of her regret that Jeju is often seen only as a tourist destination; ‘A Cat’s Shadow Under Moon’, a tribute to her beloved cat who passed away unexpectedly; and ‘Sorrow for a Farewell’, which narrate...

Lee Sunghee runs a Waldorf doll workshop at Naaznzip Workshop in Andeok-myeon area of Seogwipo City on Jeju Island. She enjoys the process of slowly hand-stitching each doll, treasuring it as a time to focus on herself. She conducts doll-making classes and nonviolent communication workshops at schools and organizations. In addition, she has held solo exhibitions showcasing her works, including dol...

Kang Eun Young is the founder of YumYum Jeju, a company that makes jams using Jeju-grown produce. Fifteen years ago, she was intrigued by a commercial featuring Jeju’s Gyorae Forest with the message, "To those who have worked hard, leave." That curiosity led her to Jeju. Wanting to grow closer to the unfamiliar island, she began cooking with local ingredients from the market and sharing...