After photographing cherry blossoms at Ninnaji, a suspected case of image theft prompted a reflection on creation, ownership, and integrity. A work of art embodies a life—and must not be taken.

2016-04-13

The day before yesterday, the Omuro cherry blossoms at Ninnaji Temple finally reached full bloom.
This year, unlike the autumn foliage season, I noticed that the cherry blossom period was marked mostly by overcast skies.
I had been hoping to photograph the blossoms under a clear blue sky, and that day finally arrived.
I went to Ninnaji with a friend, a place as familiar to me as my own garden, and I photographed intensely, without pause.
On the way back, a friend who loves photography called me the next day.
He said he had found an image on a stock photo site that looked as if it might be mine.
What he showed me was an award-winning image from a scenic photography contest held in partnership between Sony and PIXTA.
Among them was a photograph of Kinkaku-ji that made me think the same.
I thought so because my photographs of Kinkaku-ji have a particular distinguishing feature.
If it was stolen, the only explanation is that criminals exploited the porous nature of the internet, infiltrated my PC, and took the image files—an unfortunately familiar reality today.
This brought back memories of a past fraud case in which I was swindled out of a large sum of money and nearly lost my life.
The sensation of my entire mind being covered by dark clouds—an utterly unpleasant and unbearable feeling—returned.
Now is the time for me to declare to the world: Korea, China—do not lie, and do not steal what belongs to others.
What is photography?
Photography is the photographer’s life itself—his soul, a moment of his life, the time of his life, his life as a whole.
All works and technologies created by human beings are the same.
If you claim you do not understand because you were raised in countries of “bottomless malice” and “plausible lies,” then think carefully.
Imagine how you would feel if the precious work you built second by second, minute by minute, over a lifetime were stolen.
If you are human, if you possess a mind, a heart, and emotions, then imagine it.
You will understand what it means to have your life’s work taken away.
Stealing from others is the greatest and worst evil a human being can commit.
Koreans, Chinese, and those who act as if lying and stealing are nothing—recognize that what you are doing is the gravest of human wrongs.