Welcome to Pictures of the Year Asia

From teaching English in her native South Korea to winning College Photographer of the Year, an award that includes an internship at the esteemed National Geographic, photojournalist Yehyun Kim has come a long long way. Many will say that she has a blessed career but nobody will deny how hard she has worked to get to this stage.

POY Asia is proud to present its second exhibition in Seoul, South Korea.

Featuring 43 prints as well as a looped slide presentation of all the winning works from POY Asia 2023, the show at Mindful Art Forum(MAF) will run August 2 to September 22.

Most of you would have remembered that the inaugural POY Asia show was at the same gallery last summer.

We are grateful to HP for its generous sponsorship of the prints and mounts.

Most importantly, we could not have done this without the persistence and leadership of Dr Suejin Shin, MAF director and a judge for POY Asia 2021.

MAF is conveniently located in the arty district of Chungmuro, considered by many to be the birthplace of Korean cinema. It is not far from the Instagram-friendly Myeongdong shopping district but yet independent enough to have its own character. The proximity to several tertiary campuses gives Chungmuro a very youthful outlook. Last but certainly not least, this is also Seoul’s equivalent of a photographic district where you will find lots of film cameras. If you need a place to eat or drink after visiting our exhibition, just ask any of the staff at the gallery.

If you are not able to make it to Seoul, you can still enjoy the exhibition by downloading the guide.

Competitions

Pictures of the Year Asia 2023

We are pleased to announce the results for Pictures of the Year Asia 2023 competition which was judged 7 — 9 April 2023.

The 10 esteemed judges awarded the 2023 Photographer of the Year, Asia to Sergei Stroitelev, a Russian photographer who also won First Place in Cultural Practices and Daily Life Picture Story.

In addition, the judges also recognised 9 other First Places, 22 Finalists and 30 Awards of Excellence in 12 categories.

The winners this year come from Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Nepal, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, UK and Vietnam.

Modelled after the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POYi), POY Asia was created in 2020 by and for photographers from Asia. POY Asia is an official program of POYi.

Inspired by POYi’s guiding principle of “Show truth with a camera,” POY Asia is committed to seeing the world from an Asian perspective.

Pictures of the Year International is proud to announce the creation of Pictures of the Year Asia, a program aimed at promoting Asia-based photographers. Inspired by POYi’s guiding principle of “Show truth with a camera,” POY Asia is committed to seeing the world from an Asian perspective.
POY Asia is created by and for photographers working and living in Asia. Kay-Chin Tay of Singapore is serving as a Co-Director. Prashant Panjiar of India, Tanya Habjouqa of Jordan and Maye-E Wong, a Singaporean based in USA, are the Founding Advisors. POYi Director Lynden Steele is a Co-Director and will serve in a supporting role.
In 2021, the group launched its first competition modelled after POYi. Please click here to go to the contest microsite.
About Us

Mission Statement

Our mission is to increase the representation of Asian photographers and stories by celebrating and sharing excellence in documentary and artistic visual storytelling throughout Asia. Through POY Asia, we hope to strengthen the growing photo community via competitions, exhibitions, publications and educational programs.

“Show truth with a camera,” as stated by POYi founder Cliff Edom in 1944, remains our guiding principle. We believe it is critical for people to see the news and issues that are shaping Asia through the eyes of those who live here every single day.

On The Record

Interview with Arin Yoon

The Outsider

A photographer who lives in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas with her husband and two young children, Arin Yoon exemplifies the spirit of ‘pointing the camera inward’. As a military spouse herself, her current work deals with the everyday lives of military families. Often alone with their children when her husband is away on long assignments for the Army, the South Korea-born artist who immigrated to the US when she was five uses her camera to tell her story, as well as the stories of others.
Events

POY Asia Presents 2021

When we created POY Asia, we made a pledge that we will not just be about a competition; and that education and robust exchange are necessary for our profession to grow. It is a well-proven fact that there are more visual storytelling talents in Asia than publicly acknowledged. We at POY Asia believe we have both responsibility and opportunity to help bring more stories and talents to the spotlight. We hope that in years to come, POY Asia Presents will become a gathering to look forward to.
The Covid Experience

Dispatches from Asia

As a precursor to our first POY Asia competition in February 2021, we invited photographers all over Asia to share one image that summarises his or her own Covid Experience.