Students browse a HanAreum exhibit on the 1st floor of Shalom Hall in May 2014.
Photo: Charles Ian Chun
HanAreum is a black and white photography club at Kangnam University. I belong to this club and I am having a lot of fun with the other members. HanAreum was started in 1983 by people who enjoyed taking pictures of things such as scenes from nature and daily life.
Currently there are about thirty people who belong to this club and participate in a variety of activities. The club holds a photography lecture once a week on Mondays. During the lectures we learn in detail things like how and when to use certain lenses. Even beginners like me can easily catch on and learn to use this helpful information. As our club usually deals with black and white pictures, there is a darkroom prepared for our club. Being able to use an actual darkroom is a great experience.
Once or twice a month the club goes on field photography excursions taking photographs based on lessons learned in our lectures. At the beginning of the year our club went to Gyeongbok Palace. The cherry blossoms were blooming then so it was very beautiful. Thankfully we were able to take wonderful pictures with our cameras. We are planning to go to Olympic Park soon.
For our final project we will hold an exhibition at the end of the semester. You can also catch our exhibition during Kangnam University’s seasonal festivals on the first floor of Shalom Hall.
If you have any interest in photography or our club, you should come and see our exhibitions. Although HanAreum originally took pictures only with black and white film cameras, our club started taking color pictures with DSLR cameras this year. Because of this, we have been able to challenge ourselves in various settings and produce a greater variety of pictures.
People who take wonderful and beautiful photos in our club also get presents through a lottery. The lottery system is done through a Naver cafe, where our club members make notes and upload pictures they have taken. Therefore, everyone in the club strives to work hard and take the best photos they can.