Sang Moo Han, South Korea

Alaf was not able to finish second grade in his school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, because his parents needed him to work and earn money so that his family could survive. As a result, Alaf is now working together with his dad and other kids in a metal factory where bowls and jugs are produced.

He helps the adults who are working the machines, spends his lunch break on the floor, is happy with his daily wage (the equivalent of about 60 euro cents), washes the metal dust out of the pores of his skin in a river and, most likely, dreams of a different kind of dwelling than the one where his family gathers in the evening. The factory is Alaf’s school. Alaf was 13 years old when photographer Sang Moo Han noticed him. According to UNICEF, 1.7 million children in Bangladesh share Alaf’s fate.

Curriculum Vitae: Sang Moo Han, South Korea (for UNICEF Korea/Seoul)

Sang Moo Han, born in 1974, lives in Seoul. He began his career as a professional photographer in 2000. Since then, he has worked for a number of South Korean magazines, companies and advertising campaigns. Due to his voluntary work for UNICEF South Korea and his travels to countries such as Myanmar and Chad, he has shifted his focus to documentary social photography.