In pictures: The dark, hidden village you won’t find on maps of Seoul

Winner of the 2026 KYOTOGRAPHIE x Dazed Award for emerging photographers, Eijiro Hamada’s The Rookery preserves the story of Guryong Village – an endangered shanty town located in the city’s affluent centre

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May 15, 2026 - 11:17
In pictures: The dark, hidden village you won’t find on maps of Seoul
Eijiro Hamada, The Rookery

Photographer Eijiro Hamada first encountered Guryong Village (:구룡마을), a shanty town in Seoul, during the Pandemic when he saw amateur footage reporting on this obscure, rarely seen enclave of the global megacity. “The village that was introduced was a maze of shanties and unpaved roads interwoven with nature,” Hameda tells Dazed. Formed of makeshift dwellings with fewhellip;

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