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Sunny Side Up: A Portrait of the Most Average K-Parenting Today
Seungho Kim
Series description
South Korea stands at a crossroads. In 2023, the country’s birth rate hit a record-low of 0.72 children per woman, while more than six million households now find the meaning of family in their dogs. Choosing between a child and a pet has become an ironic reality. However, the photographer of this series chose to put both ends of this spectrum ‘onto life's hot frying pan.’ These photos are his ‘sunny side up’: a fragile, vibrant and beautifully messy record of the K-parenting world that lies ahead.
Biography
Seoul-based Seungho Kim is a writer, painter and photographer whose goal is to capture beauty, whether it is real or imagined. He is the founder of Ordinary K, a documentary group recording contemporary life in Korea.
Self-Dyeing at Home
‘When we turned 40, my wife suggested adopting a dog — as many other childless couples do. Then, an unexpected child came into our lives. Despite the late-age pregnancy, our baby was born healthy. For this child, watching an aging mother dye her own hair is nothing out of the ordinary.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Mimicry
‘For some reason, our child sleeps on her stomach, just like the dog. Whenever she does, her little bottom peaks high towards the sky. Her father — a bit older now — loves to playfully place small things right there.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Right Now
‘Before our child was born, the dog was the king of the house. But now, whenever the baby cries, he grows restless and licks everything in sight. It seems he is deeply preoccupied with this mysterious little human.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Watermelon War
‘Our child is growing faster and faster. The watermelon, which used to be the dog’s favourite treat, no longer belongs to him. Even we, the parents, find ourselves unable to stop our daughter’s insatiable appetite.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Bremen Town Musicians
‘Raising a child is a hard task for ageing parents. After the early morning shift I was trying to catch some sleep, when I heard the baby fussing. I knew that once the door opened my wife would bring the child in, seeking a hand. I picked up my camera, but the first to burst through the opening was our dog. The three of them, stacked vertically, looked like the Bremen Musicians.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Birth of a Dictator
‘The child has now surpassed the dog — not just in weight and height, but in a level of ambition that is beyond comparison. Why do they have to grow up so fast?’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Act of Obeying
‘The era of equal dining is over. Now, it is the child who authorises and the child who distributes. Seeing as the ‘rations’ from the small human are much larger than ours, the dog has wisely chosen to acquiesce to his new master.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Partnership
‘The two of them are finally starting to click. The harmony between our golden dog — the original guardian of the house — and this child, as radiant as the rising sun, is as warm and savoury as a sunny-side-up egg sizzling in a pan.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Sunny Side Up
‘As long as we are together, life will always be sunny side up.’
© Seungho Kim, Korea, Republic Of, 1st Place, Professional Competition, Perspectives, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS EXHIBITION, 17 APRIL - 4 MAY