SOULS OF KOREA
Discover Korea through more than 50 encounters: quiet kindness, powerful stories and the spirit of jeong, the invisible warmth that turned strangers into unforgettable connections.
DEEP CONNECTIONS
Kim Valentino
Seoul, South Korea
“I want to keep cleaning the streets of Seoul until I’m 100 years old”
A French voice in Seoul.
I was walking through Seoul when I met Kim Valentino.
A street cleaner began speaking to me in fluent French. I stopped, surprised. Then I listened.
His name was Valentino Kim: a man carrying French literature, poetry and an entire lifetime of stories beneath the surface of an ordinary day in Seoul.
We talked for an hour. Neither of us knew that this small moment would become the beginning of a friendship.
“I dream that one day, I will meet you again in Paris”
PARIS IN HIS HEART
When Valentino told me about his love for France, I understood that Paris was never just a place to him.
After 7 years studying French literature, translating The Little Prince, and holding on to the language he loves, he still dreams of walking through Montmartre.
I wanted to help him get there. But Valentino answered with something I will never forget:
“I will make the money myself. Then I will go to Paris, and I will buy you a meal worth more than that coffee.”
He did not want to be helped. He wanted to make his dream happen with his own hands.
Kim Valentino has two dreams left :
To keep cleaning the streets of Seoul until he is 100 years old. And to meet me again with his own translation of The Little Prince in his hands.
From a spontaneous encounter in Seoul to a promise that reaches all the way to Paris, Valentino reminded me that a small act of kindness can open the door to an entire human story.
Mogaeun
Seoul, South Korea
“A stranger who forgot how beautiful she was”
I met Mogaeun in the center of Seoul. She was shy, softly spoken and dressed with so much care, but she didn’t seem to realize how much light she carried. She told me she didn’t think she was beautiful, even though everything about her felt gentle, authentic and quietly captivating. I took her portrait, and when she saw the photos, something changed. She loved them—and for a moment, she seemed to see herself differently. That simple encounter went viral, but what touched me most was not the attention. It was watching a shy girl slowly regain a little confidence in herself.
“I’m not used to showing this side of myself.”
When we met again, Mogaeun came back with a completely different energy. She was still sweet and genuine, but this time she looked more confident, more comfortable and more certain of herself. We took more photos, walked through Hongdae and talked about her life. She told me she works two part-time jobs and dreams of becoming a model. Later, we played arcade games and tried to win plushies, laughing like two friends spending a normal afternoon together. Nothing was forced, just a real, innocent moment between two people who had met by chance. And maybe that is what people felt through the screen: not just beautiful photos, but a genuine connection.
You feel the Energy ?
Every portrait began with one of my presets:
Heosler
Suwon, South Korea
“Spend 2 days with me. Everything is paid for.”
I was walking through Seoul when Heosler, a famous Korean Youtuber, stopped me with a sign written in Korean and English: “Spend 48 hours with me. Everything is paid for.”
I had no idea what was waiting for me, but I’m a spontaneous person, so I said yes.
We randomly picked Suwon and started a 48-hour adventure filled with traditional food, Korean fried chicken, barbecue, archery, arcade games, football, attractions and even a luxury hotel. We also took a ride in the Suwon balloon and met strangers along the way.
Everything was filmed for his YouTube channel, but it never felt like a simple video. It felt like two strangers suddenly deciding to trust the moment, and seeing where it would take them.
2 days we will never forget
Heosler is a Korean YouTuber with one dream: to become one of the biggest creators in the world. We spent a day together in Seoul, and at one point he told me what struck him most about my work: how a simple encounter with a stranger can become a story.
It meant a lot to me, because that is exactly what I love. Meeting people, listening to them, and letting an ordinary moment become something we both remember.
By the end of the day, we had shared food, laughter, a few challenges and an afternoon neither of us could have planned. Before saying goodbye, we made a promise: same time, same place, in Seoul, ten years from now.
August 17, 2035.
I do not know where life will take us by then. But I know I will remember the day a stranger stopped me in the street and turned an ordinary afternoon into an adventure.
We had so much fun together 😆
Yechan C. Lee
Seoul, South Korea
A Hindi voice in Seoul
I spoke to him in Korean, but he answered me in Hindi. I was surprised, but behind this unexpected language was an even more beautiful story.
Charlie spent 20 years growing up in Patna, Bihar. India did not just teach him Hindi, it shaped his memories, his personality and the way he connects with people.
When he speaks Hindi, it feels like more than a language. You can hear the place where he grew up, the people he met and the warmth he received.
Even today, far from India, he continues to create content in Hindi to share that connection with others.
Meeting him reminded me that identity is not always about choosing one country.
Charlie is Korean, but India became part of his story. He carries both cultures with him, proving that sometimes home is not one place, it is everything that shaped you.
After our conversation, we ate pakoras together.
GALLERY
