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Editor's Note: From August 2012 to October 2013, photographer Kim Jung-man documented the four seasons of Dokdo with photography, with cooperation from the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the Korea Coast Guard, and the Office of Ulleng-gun. The photographs taken during this period were displayed at the photo exhibition '1-96 Dokdo-ri Ulleung-eup Ulleung-gun Gyeongsangbuk-do Korea' held at the main exhibition hall (B1) of the Sejong Museum of Fine Art from July 29 to August 11, 2014, attracting up to 10,000 visitors over the short period of two weeks. Photographer Kim Jung-man gave an interview with Hong, Seong keun, Director of Dokdo Research Institute, to talk about the photography and exhibition of his works on Dokdo.

Q Your Dokdo photo exhibition was completed on August 11, 2014. How do you feel?

A Kim Jung-man Although there had been some complications, I'm happy that the exhibition was held at a good time and a very nice place. Time was limited, of course, but the response was better than I expected, and I feel that I kind of kept my promise to the people. After this exhibition, about fifty organizations have asked me to hold the Dokdo exhibition in their venues. I've realized that many people are highly interested in Dokdo.

Q how did you feel when you first visited Dokdo in August 2012 to photograph it.

A Kim Jung-man It was in October 2011 when I first visited Dokdo. I was there with members of the Korean Culture Association, and spent about one hour taking pictures at the dock of Dokdo. Of course, it was for the project with the Northeast Asian History Foundation from August 2012 that I began photographing Dokdo in earnest over a long period of time. When I first saw Dokdo in 2011, it felt a little bit remote to me. When I returned in 2012 with the intention of starting a full-scale project, there was still a remote feeling to Dokdo, and I felt that I'd come to a lonely place. In fact, the situation was tight, and so was my mind. The island was smaller than I thought, and I was worried how I could express it in various ways

Q Was your approach to photographing Dokdo planned out beforehand, or was it improvised on the spot?

A Kim Jung-man It was both. While I decided to try to express general feelings about Dokdo in an organized way, I also thought that I wanted to express Dokdo the way I felt it as I set my foot on the island. As an artist, I felt like being selfish, but restrained myself because I thought that this project belonged to a purest domain. For example, while struggling to figure out how I should present Dokdo, I debated with myself about whether to either use my own interpretations only or take some of them away. For this project, I put more weight on the latter, because I thought that if I took many abstract pictures to my heart's content as an artist, the resulting works on Dokdo could confuse the people when they saw them. Also, I tried to visit every corner of Dokdo myself and capture it with my camera by taking full advantage of this precious opportunity.

Q During this exhibition, you said, "Let us stop fixing the Korean flag on Dokdo. Let us just become Dokdo."

A Kim Jung-man I don't think that Dokdo is a place that should be debated over sovereignty. As illustrated by 'Following Kim Jungho,' one of my recent works on Dokdo, that Dokdo is Korean territory is a clear fact of history, already well established as early as in the 1800s. There's little point in fixing the Korean flag on Dokdo to publicize this already clear fact. What I meant when I said 'Let us just become Dokso' is that we should try to understand both the loneliness and the strength of Dokdo. Located far away from the mainland, Dokdo is a lonely island. But it must want to be remembered all the time. So I meant to say that we should remember the strength of Dokdo standing in the middle of the cold sea.

Q You said that you once held on to your camera for twenty-one hours on end from three in the morning when you woke up till midnight. Where does that kind of passion come from?

A Kim Jung-man During the thirty-nine years of my career in photography, I'd never worked for twenty-one hours straight before. And I did it for the first time on Dokdo and because it was such an attractive object to me. Knowing that normally people are not allowed to stay long on Dokdo, I'm all the more grateful to the Northeast Asian History Foundation and others for letting me spend such a long time on Dokdo for a photography project. I wanted to pour everything within the allowed time, and live up to expectations.

Q In an interview, you said, "Art is a bridge that connects the souls of people." Many of the visitors to this exhibition have commented that Dokdo had become art.

A Kim Jung-man That's a great compliment. I just played a minor role in bringing Dokdo into the realm of art in the beginning. I hope to see other artists like painters or poets create a lot of content on Dokdo.

Q I was surprised that one of your works, 'On a Misty Day,' was similar to the drawing of Dokdo by artist Lee Jong-sang. I suppose that artists have similar insights and sensitivities to objects. did you take the time to do research about Dokdo.

A Kim Jung-man Lee Jong-sang is a senior artist I admire. He has created works on Dokdo far longer than I have, and he's been a great influence on many artists who came after him. But, there are actually differences in expression between the artist and the photographer. I was lucky to be there and see the beautiful Dokdo shrouded in mist, and I happened to create a work that looks similar to his. Photography requires imagination, of course, but it involves working in the field. In fine arts or literature, it is possible to create works in a workshop, given some experience and imagination. In photography, on the other hand, it is not possible to show the world the way I saw it until and unless I have been there. Strictly speaking, these works are not my inventions but gifts offered to me simply because I happened to encounter the picturesque moments of Dokdo. I studied some basic information about Dokdo, of course. I named one of my works 'Following Kim Jungho' because I knew the historical fact that Dokdo was already part of Joseon's territory, and I wanted to honor Kim Jungho, who made the Detail Map of Korea, and show that it is an already established fact that Dokdo is Korean territory and that there's no doubt about it.

Q 'Eclipse on a Cold Winter Night' and 'Hilltop' are set in the night and the day, respectively. But both works feature the crescent moon in the background. Is there any special meaning to it?

A Kim Jung-man Dokdo is a lonely island, located far away from mainland Korea. I struggled a lot to figure out how to express such intense loneliness in photography, and concluded that the crescent moon could be the symbol for such expression. I intended the crescent moon featured in the two works to convey the loneliness of Dokdo and a message inviting the people to love Dokdo.

Q You once said, "Buying yourself a one million-won piano doesn't make you a pianist, but the moment you buy yourself a one million-won camera, you are already a photographer."

A Kim Jung-man The Republic of Korea has the highest digital camera penetration rate in the world. There are many amateur artists who produce quality works, even though photography is not their profession. It's a good phenomenon. Unlike other fields of art, such as playing the piano and drawing or painting, you can do photography without learning to master certain skills, because the camera is a machine and it allows you to produce results simply by clicking the shutter. Of course, photography is not as easy as they think. Actually, the recent boom in amateur photography has an upside for the professional photographer, because as they try to take pictures themselves, many people come to understand that photography is not as easy as they think, and appreciate the works of professional photographers. It is a blessing to be appreciated and loved as a photographer by the people who love the art of photography.

Q You used to do commercial photography, and took close-ups of lions in the African savannah. And then you spent four years photographing the beautiful scenery of Korea under the theme 'Korea Rediscovered.' And you moved on to Dokdo. What drew your attention to the beauty of our land?

A Kim Jung-man Objectively speaking, I think that Korea is one of the five most beautiful countries in the world. Korea has almost every element of nature, except the desert, and it also has distinct four seasons. In Korea, one can travel short distances and still experience different dialects and foods. That one can experience various things means that there are various environments in which the photographer can produce works. The thing about travelling the world is that you have to travel such long distances that you sometimes miss good scenery. It is actually my travel in many other countries that allowed me to recognize the beauty of Korea. I traveled the world yearning for places with hues and colors that I hadn't seen before. Although this journey didn't end in vain but gave me some amazing results, I realized in the process that we also had good enough hues and colors within us. I'm glad that I realized the beauty within us before it's too late. That's why the recent Dokdo project is all the more meaningful to me.

Q I think that your works have inspired many young people out there to decide to become photographers themselves. What advice would you give them?

A Kim Jung-man I'd like to tell them to learn to be patient. As they take pictures, they'll realize that they never get the results they intended. And they could be frustrated and disappointed with themselves for some time. So it is absolutely necessary for the photographer to have the patience to endure that time. As I said earlier, it is easy to start photography without taking the time to learn skills as in other fields of art, but chances are that the results you produce in the beginning will be completely different from what you expected. I was no exception; I've taken over a million pictures over the last thirty-nine years, but the ones that I can say matched my original idea are only about 100 of them. And those 100 pictures include about three pictures of Dokdo that heavily reflect my idea. 'Are You Going With Me' and 'Philosophic Destination to Empty' are among them.

Q Finally, what's next for you as a photographer? And what suggestions would you like to make to the Northeast Asian History Foundation?

A Kim Jung-man I am scheduled to hold a private exhibition in Shanghai for three months from April 7, 2015. Personally, that is the biggest task at hand. This will be a large exhibition to be held in a 6,600-square-meter space and it will feature large photographs of the Northeast Asian region with focus on Korea, China, and Japan. And I hope that the Northeast Asian History Foundation will work with artists like me on creative projects that turn not only Dokdo but historical issues into cultural content.