Diplomacy Journal Lee Sung Jun | Mountains are silent. And yet, the mountains harbor the oldest history.

For the past 15 years, South Korean K-Mountain Photographer Cho Myeong-Hwan has climbed up and down the Bukhan-san Mountain throughout all four seasons, capturing the silent time on camera. As the fruit of these records, he has released a photobook entitled, "170 Million Years of Bukhan-san" to the world.

This photobook is not merely a collection of landscape photographs. It is a record that interprets, through art, the magnificent geological time, in which granite formed deep underground during the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era 170 million years ago, has been revealed as today's Bukhan-san through the erosion of time. The Bukhan-san is a massive granite mountain range that includes Dobong-san and Seorak-san mountains, and is also well known as Samgak-san, formed by the three peaks of Baekundae, Insubong, and Manggyeongdae. Although it is called Bukhan-san because it is located north of the Han River, ancient records refer to it as "Burkan Mor."

This name, meaning "Mountain of God" or "Mountain of Buddha" in Mongolian, demonstrates that Bukhan-san has been regarded as a sacred mountain since ancient times.

During the Goryeo Dynasty, numerous Buddhist temples were established, serving as a center of Buddhist culture; even today, temples and cultural heritage sites preserving a thousand years of history remain scattered throughout Bukhan-san.

Photographer Cho Myeong-hwan has documented the nature, history, and spiritual world of Bukhan-san through his photographs. From snow-covered winter mountain ridges and lush greener fields in spring to flowing clouds in summer and vibrant autumn foliage, Bukhan-san has revealed a different face at every moment amidst the changing seasons.

He states, “In the face of a mountain that holds 170 million years of history, human time is merely a fleeting moment,” and adds, “Bukhan-san is not merely an object for hiking, but a colossal natural heritage where the history, culture and spirit of the Korean people live on.”

Particularly in an era of rapid AI technology advancement, Photographer Cho emphasizes that human sensibility--the ability to directly observe, feel and record nature--is becoming increasingly important.
To capture the Bukhan-san Mountain as “nature in its raw, untouched state,” he excludes excessive staging or artificial effects, but, instead, captures the light, air and the breath of the seasons of the site within his photographs.

Photographer Cho’s work extends beyond tje Bukhan-san Mountain.

He has explored famous mountains across the nation, documenting the landscapes of Korea, and has published over 20 photobooks, including 'Korea’s 100 Famous Mountains'. His work documenting the beauty of the mountain ranges of the Korean Peninsula, including Baekdu-san and Geumgang-san, is regarded as a valuable asset to Korean mountain photography.

This book, '170 Million Years of Bukhansan,' is more than just a photobook. It is a record where nature and humanity, time and history, and art meet. Mt. Bukhan-san stands in its place today, embracing 170 million years of history. And Photo Artist Cho Myeong-hwan records the silent stories the mountain tells through his photographs, conveying them to us.

Jo Myeong-hwan, a South Korean K-Mountain photographer, continues to walk today, following the breath of Korea's mountains and rivers with his lens.