Kim Kyung-hoon (Chung-Ang University Department of Photography, Class of 1997) became the first South Korean photojournalist to earn a Pulitzer Prize.

A Pulitzer Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the US given for outstanding public service and achievement in journalism, letters and music.

On April 15, the Pulitzer Prize Board announced the Reuters photojournalists including Kim as the winner of a 2019 Pulitzer Prize in the Breaking News Photography category. Reuters’ photographers covered huge migrant caravans from Central America, mostly from Honduras, heading towards the United States by joining them for daylong journeys.

Kim is now based in Tokyo. His photo of a Honduran woman running away from tear gas with her daughters at the US border created a huge stir in the international community. The photo has been used to support voices against President Donald Trump’s ban on the entry of migrant caravans.
 

After graduating CAU, Kim worked as a photojournalist for The Daily Sports from 1999 to 2002. Later then, he joined Reuters, moving from the Seoul to Tokyo and to Beijing office. He covered the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents from 2007 to 2014 when he was based in Tokyo. He was based in Beijing from 2013 to 2016. He has covered major events including the Sewol ferry disaster, Yangtze cruise ship capsize and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He has also covered migrant caravans traveling across Mexico since returning to the Tokyo Office in 2016.

Kim said, “I appreciate everyone’s attention. Studying photojournalism at CAU enabled me to build a strong career foundation as a photojournalist. I ask for continuous attention and support towards all CAU photography alumni spreading their wings in many different sectors.”