There was a teenage boy who had no interest in studying and just liked to play. He wasn’t interested in going to college, so he wasn’t shocked when he failed. In his early 20s, he happened to work part-time at a broadcasting station, and for the first time, he had something he wanted to do, and he decided to study abroad in the United States. However, his visa application was denied. It turned out that the documents he had prepared through the study abroad agency were actually admission permits for a girls’ boarding school.
It was sloppy. I had a farewell party with many acquaintances saying that I was going to study abroad in the US, but my situation became ridiculous. ‘It takes more than 6 months to prepare for a US visa again…’ I looked for another destination in a hurry, and decided to go to the UK after hearing that it was relatively easy to get a UK visa.
Isn’t this just a common escape from studying abroad? But what would you think if the main character of this story was Kim Myeong-jung (MJ KIM, 52), the exclusive photographer for Beatles member Paul McCartney? How did this young man, who would have been beaten on the back by his mother, break through the inertia to stand where he is now? The Breakfast team met him to hear his story.
Tools for survival: Photography
He had something he wanted to do, and after much trial and error, he entered a media department at a university in England, but the life that lay ahead of him was not smooth. The first difficulty was the language. He had to discuss with his fellow students and do group projects together, but he said he really couldn’t understand anything. “You can’t suddenly become fluent in English just because you’re in England.” Naturally, he became a loner, and because his grades weren’t good, he was in danger of being expelled.
Then, photography caught his eye. Photography became a means of survival for the suffering international student.
“Photography doesn’t require English, and you can just go around and take pictures and develop them in a darkroom. I borrowed a camera from school and tried taking pictures once, and it was so much fun and comfortable for me that I didn’t feel intimidated. That’s how I started taking pictures.”
Not long after he took a breather with his photography, the second hardship came. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis in 1997. When he first went to England in 1995, the exchange rate was around 1,350 won per pound, but when the foreign exchange crisis broke out, it went up to over 3,000 won. His mother, who was in Korea, told Kim this.
“Son, do you know that everything is difficult these days because of the foreign exchange crisis? There is nothing for you to do in Korea, so you have to survive on your own there (in England).”
In a situation where support from his family was out of the question, and he received a special order from his mother to “survive,” Kim dropped out of school and started working part-time. In those days, when people would ask if he was from “North Korea” or “South Korea,” there wasn’t much a young Korean man in his 20s could do. He applied to hundreds of production companies related to his major, but was rejected by all of them. In the end, he had to work part-time at a restaurant at night.
![‘Paul McCartney’s exclusive photographer’ Kim Myeong-joong’s shutter begins with suffering[BreakFirst]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/06/126891676.1.jpg "‘Paul McCartney’s exclusive photographer’ Kim Myeong-joong’s shutter begins with suffering[BreakFirst]")
Developing laughter
Then one day, Kim saw a newspaper ad for a small news agency in England looking for a trainee photographer. He got the chance to work there, but a new hardship began. Even though it was a small news agency, it covered all the news of major incidents and accidents that happened in London, so he had to cover major cases like the Supreme Court. He had to know what was happening and what the faces of the people involved looked like in order to take photos ‘without drinking water’, but it was not easy for Kim, who was a foreigner.
What was the method he chose to survive? It was ‘laughter’. In order to understand the incident and the situation on the scene, he had no choice but to continue asking local British reporters, but he couldn’t ask for help while making a serious face.
“Looking back on my teenage years, I wasn’t originally a person who smiled a lot. But from that time on, I started smiling a lot and my attitude toward people changed. After work, I would buy them a cup of coffee or beer and chat with them. I think that was the turning point for me to become more friendly to people.”
They say you can’t spit in a smiling face. It is said that many British reporters helped foreign intern photographers who followed them around smiling without getting annoyed even once. In the process, they also became friends with British reporters.
After about 3 or 4 years, Kim received a full-time job offer from the Press Association (PA), a major British news agency. However, soon after hearing the good news, bad news came. The British Home Office did not grant Kim a work permit. At the time, the UK was strict about hiring nationals from countries outside the EU. They asked why he was hiring a foreigner when he could easily hire a photojournalist within the UK or EU countries.
Mr. Kim is in danger of being deported. In this unfortunate situation, British journalists who knew Mr. Kim stepped in. They wrote a letter of protest to the Home Office, saying, “It is unreasonable to deny a work permit to someone who is working hard for the British press just because he is a foreigner.” They collected about 50 letters. The British Home Office eventually allowed him to work, and Mr. Kim was able to work as an entertainment photographer for PA.
The driving force that breaks inertia, ‘fun’
Kim, who moved from PA to Getty Images, traveled to film festivals around the world to cover stories, got married, and had her first child. Her abilities were recognized and she lived a stable life with nothing to be envious of. Another happy moment came. She was about to give birth to her second child.
At that time, Kim’s wife decided to quit her job to raise her children. But suddenly, Kim also quit his job. The reason was clear. It was because he found fun in a new field. At that time, Kim lost interest in photojournalism and became interested in portrait photography. He said that he practiced taking portrait photos so much that he thought he could quit his job and become a freelancer.
But he recalled those days and said, “I was really ignorant.” I quit my job with only the belief and confidence that I could do it, but for six months, no work came in. I thought I was going to starve to death. I was very afraid of whether I could live well, but I didn’t regret it.
“I think it’s a choice in the end. How many people can change jobs after everything is ready? And there’s no guarantee that you’ll be happy after changing jobs. I just wanted to go from being a photojournalist to being a photographer. I don’t think there is such a thing as a ‘right time’. When I have the passion to do something, Because that passion is followed by actions that match it, I think quitting a job should be done with a happy heart.”
Why World Stars Are Seeking ‘MJ KIM’
Kim, who thought she would starve to death, escaped the crisis when she received a call from the world-famous pop girl group Spice Girls. She worked well with the demanding demands of the Spice Girls members, and became known in the industry for her hard work. That was how her relationship with Paul McCartney began through an introduction from an industry insider.
At first, he said that it was so much fun to fly around the world on McCartney’s private plane and film his performances. But as they say, the human heart is a tricky thing. A part of Kim’s mind started to think, ‘The same thing is happening over and over again,’ and he started to lose interest in his work.
“Photography is a job that requires passionately taking thousands of pictures and selecting a few. At first, it was so much fun that I took tens of thousands of pictures and selected them for each performance. However, I gradually fell into mannerism, and as I forgot the joy and gratitude, my passion for photography also waned. And I also thought that the grass was always greener on the other side, and wanted to try working on things like movie posters or fashion magazine covers.”
One day, after working as McCartney’s exclusive photographer for about three years, McCartney sat Kim down and said this.
“MJ, your pictures don’t turn me on these days… What do you think?”
Kim has another epiphany at McCartney’s powerful words.
“Actually, if he didn’t like my photos, he could just fire me and find another photographer. If he told his manager, ‘Find me a good photographer,’ countless photographers from all over the world would come to him. But he gave me another chance. It was an opportunity to learn that if I don’t do my best at something, it will disappear in front of me.”
As I listened to Kim’s story, I suddenly became curious. Why did McCartney continue to entrust Kim with his work for so long? When I asked Kim, he said, “I want to know, too.”
“I want to say, ‘People keep coming to me because my skills are so much better,’ but I don’t think my photos are that much better than other professionals. But it’s better to have fun with the same work. I think they probably think, ‘MJ seems to have a good attitude, and the more I meet him, the more comfortable I feel.’”
In fact, Mr. Kim says that he seeks a fun and comfortable atmosphere even when doing studio shoots. The atmosphere on the shoot is the same. He always plays exciting music and provides champagne, beer, and wine to create a party atmosphere. If the client is a smoker, he even brings cigarettes of different types to the studio.
“When we shoot in a studio, we have a lot of people with different roles, not just actors. When we all get along, we can start working in a fun atmosphere (without feeling awkward).”
The Condition of a ‘Pro’: Suffering
If you shoot in a fun atmosphere, wouldn’t the photographer also enjoy every moment of his work? However, Mr. Kim actually said that he felt ‘distressed’ while taking the photos.
“I feel miserable from the moment I receive a request. I am a professional photographer, and the result has to be good. On the outside, I play music on the set and work as if I were having a party, but inside, a thousand thoughts cross my mind. Am I doing the right thing? Are the photos coming out well? Will that person like it? Only when the client likes the photos I took do I feel relieved and happy.”
Then I wondered what kind of philosophy a photographer for a world star would have about his job. As someone whose skills have been recognized by world-famous figures, I thought he would have pride and an artistic philosophy, but Kim gave an unexpected answer.
“I have a job containerone I’ve never thought about self-actualization. I don’t even consider myself an artist. I think that a job is something that provides the economic conditions necessary to live each day. We live our lives with the economic rewards that come from that act. I’m grateful for every moment I get to take photos, get paid for it, and make a living.”
A photographer is a job that makes someone shine rather than oneself. Kim’s name is as well known as the title ‘Paul McCartney’s exclusive photographer’. Doesn’t a life that makes someone shine sometimes feel futile?
“I think the most important thing is where you want to be. People who want to be behind the camera don’t have to feel inferior. People who want to be in front of the camera westgo Problems arise when the person you want to be with is behind you. I think that self-destructive feelings are something you create yourself. That’s why because ‘myAre you doing what you want now?‘ he said I think it’s something we always have to think about.”
“If you were born again, would you rather be the photographer Kim Myeong-joong or Paul McCartney?”
“Of course it’s Paul McCartney!”
I asked Mr. Kim why, wondering if he was a little envious of the life he had in front of the camera. His answer was quite different from what I expected, but it was still candid.
“Photographer Kim Myeong-joong has done it once. I want to try something I’ve never done before!”
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2024-09-09 00:47:17