My night with the guerrilla balloonists of South Korea
Illustrations for National Geographic, accompanying Paul Salopek’s essay about a group of North Korean defector activists who launch balloons carrying leaflets across the border under cover of night.
I created a series of three illustrations for the story, designed to unfold across multiple spreads. The opening image shows the balloons floating quietly past Seoul’s Namsan Tower and heading toward the North. I liked the contrast between this familiar Seoul landscape and the destination just beyond it — a place that feels so close, yet remains almost impossible to see.
The balloons themselves became an important part of the visual language of the story. They are light, delicate, and almost beautiful as they drift through the night, yet they carry stories of separation, longing, exhaustion, and hope.
I wanted the three images to move between these different feelings, capturing something of the quiet courage of the people behind the balloons and the bittersweet complexity of lives shaped by division and exile.
Read the full story on National Geographic
Illustrations for National Geographic, accompanying Paul Salopek’s essay about a group of North Korean defector activists who launch balloons carrying leaflets across the border under cover of night.
I created a series of three illustrations for the story, designed to unfold across multiple spreads. The opening image shows the balloons floating quietly past Seoul’s Namsan Tower and heading toward the North. I liked the contrast between this familiar Seoul landscape and the destination just beyond it — a place that feels so close, yet remains almost impossible to see.
The balloons themselves became an important part of the visual language of the story. They are light, delicate, and almost beautiful as they drift through the night, yet they carry stories of separation, longing, exhaustion, and hope.
I wanted the three images to move between these different feelings, capturing something of the quiet courage of the people behind the balloons and the bittersweet complexity of lives shaped by division and exile.
Read the full story on National Geographic