Photographed throughout the early 2000s and composed entirely of previously unpublished works, Sung Jin Park’s new book Kid Echo revisits the world of adolescence he first explored in the monograph Kid Nostalgia. More than twenty years after all of these photographs were made, Park revisits the work with a deeper appreciation for its openness and emotional ambiguity.

Born in Seoul and educated in New York, Park studied both painting and photography at Pratt Institute before returning to Korea, where he began photographing teenagers he encountered throughout Seoul and its outskirts.

I interviewed Park for the book, discussing his background, his photographic influences, and how he now looks at his portraits of adolescent life on the streets of Seoul with the benefit of 20 years of hindsight. Park reflects on his search for what he describes as “the moment of emotion,” inspired in part by Henri Cartier-Bresson's notion of the “decisive moment.” For Park, however, the goal was not perfect composition or narrative clarity, but emotional presence: “I wanted them to be completely relaxed so their innocence could emerge.”

The book is published by New York-based Session Press.

Sung Jin Park, Kid Echo

NEW YORK: SESSION PRESS, 2026