EACH PHOTOGRAPH is a memory. A bright blue summer sky, so blue it almost hurts to look. The first winter snow, soft white clouds piled over city streets, shimmering at night from the soft glow of the streetlamps. Photos preserve these moments long after they’ve faded from our consciousness, their clarity in stark contrast to our own blurred recollections, At Yonsei University, there is a photography club called Raon in the College of Life Science and Biotechnology dedicated to capturing these moments and creating its own story through pictures. The members of the club enjoy traveling and capturing beautiful moments from wherever they go. The Yonsei Annals interviewed Raon’s president, Choi Seok (Soph., Dept. of Biotech) and its members to learn more about this club.

Annals: Could you give us a brief introduction to Raon?

Choi: The name of our club, “Raon,” is a Korean word that means “joy”. Raon began with the goal of searching for joy and is composed of students who enjoy both taking pictures and traveling. Our members share the photos they take with one another and, in a way, they are sharing their happiness with each other as well.

Annals: With the pandemic ongoing, how is the club carrying out its activities?

Choi: In accordance with the school's policy, we were not able to carry out any activities during the first semester. For the fall semester, we began holding club activities while abiding by the present social distancing guidelines. Considering that an outdoor photo shoot is still a face-to-face activity, we divided ourselves into small groups to limit the number of people in one place. We are also having online meetings through Zoom once a month to share notices or personal opinions [regarding activities].

Annals: When you take a picture, what aspects of the photo do you prioritize?

Choi: I think that the answer to that is really a matter of preference. Among our members, there are those who mainly care about the color and the atmosphere of the picture. Ultimately though, our club’s goal is to take a photo that allows us "to make our own story".

Annals: As we spend more time inside due to COVID-19, people have been experiencing corona blue, and photography was suggested as a good way of overcoming this. What would be a good way for these people to get into photography?

Choi: I tried to think about the reason why photography can help overcome corona blue and thought that it is because photos can remind us of happy moments in our lives. People can always look at the photos they’ve taken and sort of take themselves back to that moment in time. I think the reason why many people are reluctant to dive into photography at first is due to the idea that photography is a professorial and difficult hobby. But I would tell people to instead think of photography as just another part of our lives. For instance, instead of going to famous places trying to plan out a shoot, just taking photos of the surrounding environment while taking a walk from home can lead to some great photos. It’s not really necessary to have a professional high-quality camera either. People can simply start taking pictures with their cell phone cameras. For Raon, although there are members who have their own cameras, many of our members use their cell phone cameras as well. There may be several people who are feeling depressed due to the pandemic, but I hope they will be able to overcome their depression and that photography will be able to help them do so.

Annals: What does photography mean to you?

Yoon Chae-young (Soph., Dept. of Systems Biology): I believe that the true purpose of photography is 'remembering’ memories. I often take pictures using my cell phone camera even for non-special events. And when I feel either bored or tired, I open the photo album to go through pictures and be reminded of my good memories. If Monet tried to record light at certain moments through painting, I try to record each day in my life through pictures.

Choi: There are other members who have also said that they recall the emotions they felt at a certain moment when looking at their photos. While sharing pictures in the club, we try to recall and maybe rediscover the emotions we had in that moment. The pictures are, in many ways, a detailed record of our lives.

Annals: What is the favorite photo you’ve taken at Raon and why?

Choi: There are two photos and the first is a picture of moss that I took on a trip during summer vacation. The moss seemed lonely as it was growing alone and distanced from other plants. I thought this paralleled human relationships and the loneliness we’ve felt during the pandemic. The sun was shining really brightly behind the lonely moss which also added a layer of irony to the photo. The second picture focuses on Raon’s signature pose, a square made with your fingers. The pose is a reminder to fully capture the moment when we take a picture. We took this photo during our recent outdoor photoshoot. I thought this picture with our members and pose really embodied our spirit as a club that “captures and creates their own story”.

Annals: How do you choose the location of the photoshoot? Is there any standard when you choose the location?

Choi: Since Raon has an outdoor photoshoot almost every month, we usually go to places where we can fully capture the vibe of the season. For instance, we went to a valley in Gapyeong during the summer and saw the pink muhly in autumn. When deciding where to go, we take suggestions from our members. After that, all of the members will vote on the location and date from the given options. That being said, when we go to an outdoor photoshoot and take pictures, we don't have a specific theme. Instead, each member can freely take and share pictures of the scenery and people. One photo that we always take during an outdoor photoshoot is a picture of us doing our official pose with the beautiful scenery in the background.

Annals: How is Raon different from other photography clubs?

Choi: When people think of photography clubs, they usually think of clubs where people learn how to take pictures professionally. People tend to find it difficult to join when the focus of the club is becoming more professional. I also think this is the reason why some people prefer to join smaller clubs. For Raon, we focus on capturing “our own story” through pictures. Part of that process is sharing our stories with the other members, so we try to build more personal relationships in the process of taking photos.

Annals: Could you share the most memorable moment you had in Raon?

Choi: In my case, it was the last outdoor photoshoot that I planned. I was very satisfied with the photoshoot because everything went according to plan. We had an outdoor photoshoot when pink muhly came into full bloom and the photos we took that day reflected this beauty well. Ever since the club was established in 2013, Raon has had this jinx called “Raon carries rain” and even if the weather was nice the day before, it almost always rains on the day we’ve planned a shoot. On the day of our outdoor photoshoot to Banpo Han River, it actually rained again and I felt surprised to witness that the jinx was true.

Annals: What plans do you have for Raon?

Choi: Raon produces a photo calendar every year. At the end of the year, we gather photos we took during club activities through a shared cloud album and choose the pictures that can best express each month. Then, we create a calendar and distribute it to freshmen and other students the next year. Due to the COVID-19, this year we are going to hold an untact exhibition called "Bang-gu-seok* Exhibition" through Zoom, where we will talk about this year’s club activity. Also, we are planning to promote our club more actively. For now, students can only find out about Raon through our Facebook page, so we are planning to create an Instagram account to share photos and advertise our club activities.

Annals: Are there any last words that you would like to deliver to our readers and those willing to join the Raon?

Choi: You should not consider photography as something that is difficult or professional. Your desire to capture your own story in a photo is more than enough to be a good photographer.

*bang-gu-seok: Korean word meaning “within the room”