David ChinHo Shin
ChinHo Shin earned his doctorate in neuroscience through research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and worked as a researcher at its Neuroscience Center, exploring human cognition and the nature of human existence. During his graduate studies, he volunteered annually on mission trips, where he met children and young people growing up in deeply challenging circumstances. These encounters left him with a question: “If I had been born here, how different would my life have been from theirs?” He came to recognize that the safety and opportunities he enjoyed were not solely the result of his own efforts—and that being born in South Korea was neither a choice nor an achievement. This realization instilled in him a profound sense of gratitude and indebtedness to those whose lives had been shaped by less fortunate circumstances.
That sense of responsibility led him to share the stories of people living amid social exclusion and structural violence, hoping to contribute to meaningful change in their lives. Together with like-minded colleagues, he co-founded an international NGO and began engaging in humanitarian work on the ground. Since 2007, he has used documentary photography to bear witness to war, poverty, discrimination, human trafficking, and other forms of social injustice. For Shin, the camera is both a means of acting on the responsibility born of these encounters and a tool for bringing overlooked voices to an international audience. His work explores human dignity, survival, and stories buried in silence, asking how the lives of those he photographs are connected to our own.
He is currently pursuing three long-term documentary projects: “Unheard Voices,” about people affected by Myanmar’s civil war; “Unbroken Roots,” documenting Dalit communities in India; and “Unseen Chains,” exploring the lives of women in Kamathipura, Mumbai. Through these projects, he illuminates both the realities of marginalization and the determination and dignity with which people continue to live.
Shin held a solo exhibition at Gallery Ryugaheon in 2023 and participated as an invited artist in the Daejeon International Photo Festival in 2024 and 2026. His photographs are held in corporate collections in South Korea, including those of Sandoll Communications and RightBrain.
In 2023, he published the photobook I look myself through those who I looked and was nominated in the documentary category by the Royal Photographic Society. His international recognition also includes first place in the “War/Conflict” category at the 2024 New York Photography Awards and first place in the “Editorial” category at the 2025 Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA).
신진호 (申珍浩, Shin ChinHo)
신진호는 한국과학기술연구원(KIST)에서 생체신경과학으로 박사학위를 취득하고, KIST 신경과학센터에서 연구원으로 활동하며 인간의 인지와 존재에 대한 과학적 탐구를 이어왔다. 학위 과정 중에는 해마다 선교지를 찾아 봉사활동을 하며, 어려운 환경 속에서 자라는 아이들과 청소년들을 만났다. 그 만남은 그에게 하나의 질문을 남겼다. ‘내가 이곳에서 태어났다면, 나의 삶이 이들의 삶과 얼마나 달랐을까.’ 자신이 누리는 안전과 기회가 오직 자신의 노력으로 얻어진 것이 아니며, 한국에서 태어났다는 사실조차 스스로 선택하거나 성취한 것이 아니라는 깨달음은 그에게 깊은 감사와 빚진 마음을 갖게 했다.
이러한 마음은 사회적 소외와 구조적 폭력 속에 놓인 사람들의 이야기를 세상에 전하고, 그들의 삶에 변화를 만드는 데 힘을 보태고자 하는 실천으로 이어졌다. 그는 뜻을 같이하는 이들과 국제 NGO를 공동 설립해 현장 중심의 인도주의 활동을 시작했으며, 2007년부터 다큐멘터리 사진을 통해 전쟁, 빈곤, 차별, 인신매매 등 사회적 불의의 현장을 기록해 왔다. 그에게 카메라는 만남의 자리에서 느낀 책임을 실천하는 수단이자, 쉽게 들리지 않는 목소리를 국제 사회에 전하는 증언의 도구다. 그의 작업은 인간의 존엄과 생존, 그리고 침묵 속에 묻힌 서사를 드러내며, 사진 속 사람들의 삶이 어떻게 우리의 삶과 연결되어 있는지를 묻는다.
현재 그는 미얀마 내전 피해자들의 삶을 다룬 ‘Unheard Voices’, 인도의 달리트(Dalit) 공동체를 기록한 ‘Unbroken Roots’, 그리고 인도 뭄바이 카마티푸라 여성들의 삶을 담은 ‘Unseen Chains’를 장기 다큐멘터리 프로젝트로 진행하고 있다. 그는 이 작업들을 통해 소외된 이들이 겪는 현실과 더불어, 그 속에서도 삶을 이어가는 의지와 존엄을 조명한다.
2023년 류가헌 갤러리에서 개인전을 개최했으며, 2024년과 2026년 두 차례 대전국제사진축제의 초대작가로 참여했다. 그의 작품은 산돌커뮤니케이션, 라이트브레인 등 국내 여러 기업에 소장되어 있다.
2023년 사진집 『I look myself through those who I looked』를 출판했으며, 같은 해 영국왕실사진협회(Royal Photographic Society) 다큐멘터리 부문에 노미네이트되었다. 이어 2024년 New York Photography Awards ‘War/Conflict’ 부문 1위, 2025년 Tokyo International Foto Awards(TIFA) ‘Editorial’ 부문 1위를 차지하는 등 다수의 국제 사진상에서 수상했다.
Awards
2026 “Unheard Voices” Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards
“Unheard Voices” Finalist, Photo Journalism Prize
2025 “Unheard Voices : The Silent Survivors” Winner in Editorial, Tokyo International Foto Awards
Gold Winner in Editorial-Photo Essay, Tokyo International Foto Awards
“Unheard Voices” Honorable Mention in Press/Feature Story, PX3
“Unseen Chains” Honorable Mention in Press/Feature Story, PX3
2024 “Unheard Voices” Winner in War/Conflict Category, New York Photography Awards
Gold Winner in Documentary Category, New York Photography Awards
“Unseen Chains” Gold Winner in Documentary Category, New York Photography Awards
Silver Winner in Editorial-Photo Essay, Tokyo International Foto Awards
2023 “Stories of People Suffering in Myanmar’s Civil War” Finalist in Documentary Category, Royal Photographic Society
Solo Exhibitions
2023 “I look myself through those who I looked”,ryugaheon gallery, Seoul, Korea
2017 “I look myself through those who I looked”,Online Exhibition,Sazinzibb gallery, Seoul, Korea
2010 “Cambodian Children”, Dongan Gallery Café, Seoul, Korea
Group Exhibitions
2026 Tokyo International Foto Awards(TIFA) Winners Exhibition, House of Lucie, Budapest, Hungary
“Unseen Chains” Daejoen International Photo Festival, Daejeon, Korea
Tokyo International Foto Awards(TIFA) Winners Exhibition, Le Deco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
House of Lucie Budapest, Hungary
2024 “Unheard Voices” Daejeon International Photo Festival, Daejeon, Korea
2010 “My Expression”, Kyung-in museum of fine art ltd, Seoul, Korea
2008 “Moments in Life”, Illum gallery, Seoul, Korea
Publication
2023 I look myself through those who I looked/ Hans Graphic
2007 KBS Calendar making project with ‘미녀들의 수다’
Projects
2022 ~ “Unheard Vocies” The lives of victims of the Myanmar civil war, Myanmar
“Unseen Chains” The lives of CSE(Continuously Sexual Exploited) women in Mumbai’s Red Light Area, India
2017~ “Unbroken Roots” The lives of Dalits, India
2006~ The lives of Myanmar’s impoverished, Myanmar
Press
2024 “빛으로, 삶 속의 빛을 찾아 (Seeking the Light in the Life)” , The JoongAng
“들리지 않는 이야기 (Unheard Voices)”, Onuri Newspaper
2023 “The light of life of the people of Myanmar conveyed through the light of the photo”, Artkoreatv
“He captured the 'life' and 'stories' of the people of Myanmar.”, The Christian Newspaper
“A Myanmar girl and her younger brother.” Onuri Newspaper
“My dream is a life that testifies to God." Onuri Newspaper
2015 “Life is beautiful even when we are powerless and poor.” DI(Digital Insight) Magazine
2010 “Promise”, Newsis Newspaper, Korea
2008 “untitled”, Newsis Newspaper, Korea
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