“Inheriting sound with unique colors” (Park Hae-mook / The Korea Herald)

Herald Corp. staff photographer Park Hae-mook was awarded three consecutive grand prizes in the monthly news photo contest by the Korea Press Photographer’s Association on Thursday.

The association announced the winners of the 238th, 239th and 240th monthly news photo contest. Park won for best portrait in October, November and December.

The works by Park are “Korean dance harmonized with nature,” “Joseon era seonbi’s ‘hanryangmu’ as danced by millennials and Generation Z” and “Inheriting sound with unique colors” for October, November and December, respectively.

“Joseon era seonbi’s ‘hanryangmu’ as danced by millennials and Generation Z” (Park Hae-mook / The Korea Herald)

Park captured the dancers’ passionate and rhythmical moves with long exposure in his two portraits. A bold contrast of colors catches the eye in his static portrait of a musician blowing the saenghwang, a double-reed mouth organ with 17 bamboo pipes.

All three of Park’s photos have been featured in the The Korea Herald’s “Eye Plus” series, which highlights younger Koreans who study and develop the country’s traditions.

Im Se-jun, another Herald Corp. staff photographer, was awarded the best news photo by the KPPA in November for his work showing lost articles at a gymnasium after the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul on Oct. 29.

More than 500 members of the KPPA submit thier photos for the monthly competition in six categories: news, sports, feature, nature, story and portrait. Journalists of around 70 media outlets across South Korea are part of the association, according to the KPPA.

“Korean dance harmonized with nature”(Park Hae-mook / The Korea Herald)