Jeju Underwater Photography Competition Expands to Video, with 300 Expected to Participate

【Financial News, Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】 The underwater photography competition documenting the marine ecosystem of Jeju’s waters is adding a video category this year and expanding the competition to four categories.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 19th, the 6th Jeju Underwater Photo Championship will be held over four days, from the 22nd to the 25th, in waters around Bomok, Daejeong and Hwasun in Seogwipo City, and Aewol and Hallim in Jeju City. Jeju Province is hosting the event, and the Jeju Underwater Photo Championship Organizing Committee is organizing it.
Around 300 people, including underwater photographers and scuba-diving enthusiasts, are expected to take part in this year’s competition. That is about 60 more than last year’s 240 participants.
The biggest change is the addition of an underwater video category. Last year, the competition had one underwater photography category using standard cameras, but this year it has been divided into two photo categories: one for standard cameras and one for small cameras (compact cameras).
Two video categories have also been added: short films of up to three minutes and short-form videos, which are brief vertical videos. The scope of the competition has been expanded to allow entrants to capture not only underwater ecosystems in still images but also the movement of marine life and its habitat.

Photography will focus on Jeju waters where soft coral colonies and diverse marine life are found. Some marine protected areas are also included, allowing participants to capture the ecological characteristics of Jeju’s waters in their work.
The soft coral colonies off Jeju’s coast are nationally protected marine natural heritage. In 2004, the Korea Heritage Service designated Jeju’s coastal soft coral colonies in the waters off Seogwipo and around Songaksan Mountain as a Natural Monument.
Soft corals are a group of corals whose bodies are relatively soft and flexible, unlike hard corals, which have well-developed, rigid calcareous skeletons. Various soft corals are found around Munseom, Beomseom and Seopseom off Seogwipo, forming distinctive underwater landscapes and habitats for marine life.
The ecological value of Jeju’s waters has recently drawn even more attention amid changes in the marine environment. With rising sea temperatures, changes to marine ecosystems and damage to some coral colonies being raised as concerns, conserving the underwater environment and monitoring it continuously have emerged as important tasks.
The photos and videos taken during this competition will be used as materials that visually showcase marine life in Jeju’s waters and its habitat.

Seven experts will judge the competition. They will assess the artistic merit of the photos and videos and select one champion and 10 top-ranked entrants. The awards ceremony and closing ceremony will be held on the 25th, the final day of the competition.
Jeju Province plans to use the submitted photos and videos to promote the value of marine ecosystems and the importance of environmental conservation, as well as to introduce marine leisure activities such as scuba diving.
Kim Jong-su, head of Jeju Province’s Bureau of Oceans and Fisheries, said, “Jeju’s waters are a precious marine ecological asset where soft coral colonies and rare marine life flourish together,” adding, “Through the submitted works, we will promote the ecological value of Jeju’s waters and the importance of conservation at home and abroad.”


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