Coexist: Humanity and Trust

At the center of old Hanyang is xin (信), or "trust" and its many cognates. It is the last of the five cardinal virtues of Confucianism, and to me, it is the core tenet of the world.

Xin is embodied in Seoul by Bosingak (普信閣), the historic bell pavilion in the center of the old palace. It was originally named Jonggak, but was renamed Bosingak in 1895 by Emperor Gojong. He was grasping the final threads of the Joseon dynasty, which had been embroiled in the global wave of imperialism led by states like the U.S., France, and Japan. Perhaps the renaming of Jonggak, once a pivotal part of social and spiritual life in Hanyang, was an attempt to restore a sense of order and stability through xin.

By 1895, Emperor Gojong would have acutely felt the impending doom: the loss of the nation that was to unfold through the next fifteen years. The same year, Empress Myeongseong was brutally assassinated by the Japanese. The dynasty had entered its final downward spiral, and its momentum proved irreversible.

Xin, to me, represents coexistence and the cyclical nature of life. Both are made possible by a baseline level of trust in the world and in each other. At the heart of the world is humanity itself. Through street photography, I've come to see that ostensibly quotidian scenes often end up being the most memorable. "Coexist" is an effort to capture these moments: to place people at the center of the universe and honor the truth that everyone navigates their own world.

Cross sections of life, I hope.