May 31, 2007
Korea, An Apology
Martin Parr
Martin Parr/Magnum Photos
The above image was taken at the Parthenon in Greece in 1991 and was part of my project about global tourism.
Up until last week I had always thought that the tour group was Japanese. However, when I was recently in Seoul and this image was used as a poster, one reason cited was the fact that the party of tourists was Korean.
So I feel it only correct that I apologise for this misrepresentation. All those times I have given talks and mentioned how the Japanese travel the world in groups… Canadian readers will understand the gravity of this, when you are accused of being American.
I spent a good few days in Korea shooting tourist activities. These days, people photograph one another so prolifically and with such enthusiasm that I often wonder whether they actually look at any of the things they are visiting.
On the Island of Jeju, Korea’s hottest tourist attraction, the classic sight is of a honeymoon couple wearing identical T-shirts and going round with a tripod photographing themselves in front of everything they see.
Martin Parr/Magnum Photos for Hankyoreh Media
The upsurge of tripod sales is one effect of the digital revolution that no-one would have predicted.
When I was taking photos of tourism in the 1990s I was often asked to take photos of people. This hardly seems to happen now. I am amused to speculate how many unknown Martin Parr images there are lurking in family albums.
Visiting famous sites has always had an element of pilgrimage about it, and in our secular age the desire and need to be photographed in front of something that is well known, or even vaguely known, is an integral part of any tourist visit.
It proves we exist, gives purpose to the visit and is an easily achieved goal.
However, what happens to all these images is a mystery, especially with digital where the temptation is to leave the images on the computer. Perhaps they can be deleted when one changes tripod partner?
Published on the Magnum Blog on May 31, 2007
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