Precious memories for over 40 years
Fondly remembering Oam teacher

I’m reminiscing about the 40 years of a pathway that we have walked on together since 1980 -the first year at the high school — while looking at the letter and photograph that my teacher gave me a long time ago.

My teacher, a genuine companion of my life, who appreciated the essence of mother nature; relished wildflowers; seized the stick of life with photography; disseminated international culture through the history wild trips; patted Acorus gramineus while smiling like an innocent little child, always offered a cup of tea with such hospitality whenever I visited his place.

That fragrance and reverence were so strong to the point where play, poetry, photography, and travel have become part of my life and champion. This grateful relationship must have its reason.

Once, I said to the teacher, who crossed the border, a site of segregation, to teach students in Kaesong; came back and forth through the Sonjuk Bridge; missed the foods and friends back in Kaesong; moved to tears while dreaming about the reunification, to dedicate a poem for Korean reunification with photos of mother nature and wildflowers that he loved, whether it’s at Han River, Yalu River, or Tumen River. However, I’ve never imagined that that would be the last.

When the ashes were scattered at the Incheon’s coastal waters, so that they can be carried by waves to the hometown, the disciple, myself, also cried and pledged to carry on the will of my teacher. And thus, we dream about the broader and more peaceful and euphoric world beyond from Halla to Baekdu with the remembrance of Patriotic Martyrs’ Day, will of reunification, and power of wildflowers and culture.

Now, across the Korean Peninsula and beyond, relationships are being made. And in the relationship that will be made, I wonder if a beautiful and pure world like wildflowers is being planted across the globe. Today, I’m walking with my teacher — the most genuine teacher and life partner of mine — beyond life and death as always. And tears of deference remain from the bottom of my heart.
Now, the heritage of your flawless writings, aphorisms, and eternal photographic documents that you left for us traveling across the world should and will be spread with a new stream of light. To accomplish this goal, I present the project with the teacher’s pictures of wildflowers that resemble his soul and photographs of his disciple, which will be the very first exhibition of the teacher and his disciple.
Hoping that the precious value that we’ve made, beauty, the endurance of mother nature, quintessence of love, and the resonance of nature can be truly acknowledged.
I wish that the spore of love, peace, remedy, and reconciliation that you had scattered through your entire life could spread through the world so that the world that you wished to see and created can come true through this exhibition.

Disciple Go Myung-Ju

　
Master Oam Kim Nak-Bong, Author (1926~2014)

Fostered numerous junior scholars while serving as a Korean literature teacher and principal in Kaesong, North Korea, and Seoul, South Korea for 43 years and 6 months.
Captured traditional house, scenery, portrait, and wildflower in photography when participating in several history travels to Japan to document Korean Culture.
Contributed heavily to the documentation of the wildflowers’ ecology at the Korean Wildflower Laboratory. Had become the expert in tea ceremony, suiseki, orchid, and especially Acorus gramineus thanks to the influence and effort of the headmaster Han Do.
After living as a military reporter and entering photographer, he has been a member of Korea’s best photography club for more than 30 years and has been selected as the Top 100 estimable figures in Korea. He was a leader, poet, and photographer who left numerous masterpieces while filming wildflowers with the late Song Gi-Yeop, a world-renowned wildlife photographer, and documented the worldwide wild with the late Hong Soon-Tae, a Korean photography mogul.
　

＊Kim Nak-Bong’s photographic work about 10,000 slide files, left by the deceased, is provided by his apprentice Go Myung-Ju, who lives in South Korea. His work is restored as the time of shooting, through the process of organizing, scanning, repairing and correcting in a few months at GALLERY 2511.

　
Disciple Hanbaek Go Myung-Ju, Author (1964~)

Served as the president of the photography club since college. The first generation digital photographer with a photographic philosophy of setting time, making history, and capturing memories. Participated in a photography club while working a fulltime job. Participated in about 20 domestic exhibitions such as social contribution and connection through green cultural activities.
A digital photographer who grasped the trend of the times and digitally produced wildflowers and landscapes since 2000, and held his first private exhibition in 2002 to promote the value of wildflowers and mother nature’s beauty.
After that, the author fervently worked on the theme of blooming wildflowers and mother nature and integrated them into social and historical contributions through photography.
Since 2015, the author started a cultural exhibition to commemorate the martyrs of the country, which was inspired by the history per se, and he is now participating in 24 exhibitions in Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. He is also the head of a group of photographers who are honoring patriotic martyrs.
He is a poet and photographer who is keeping his promise with the teacher while holding a wildflower; wishing to give a drink to the martyrs of the nation; carrying a backpack to keep the footsteps of the martyrs while hoping to make peace, love, healing, and happiness.