Korean Bear Farms
In 1981, South Korea started importing bears to farm them for their bile. The liquid located in their gallbladder is very popular in traditional Asian medicine and has been used for multiple purposes.
In 1985, South Korea banned importation but the farms continued their breeding to provide the growing demand. In 2014, a deal was reached with the government to stop the exploitation of the bears.
There are about 24 bear farms still existing in South Korea with about 360 bears kept in small and old cages. Some of them are still trying to evade the laws. Since 2018, Tae Gyu Choi founded an organization to help the bears and eventually move them to a Sanctuary where they can be treated better.
If you are interested to publish that story get in touch at timfranco@gmail.com
Ulan Bator | A new Democracy in Mongolia
More photos from a story I have worked on a few month ago about the new democracy in Mongolia. During my time there, I had the chance to visit local herders and resident from the Capital city Ulan Bator as well as prominent politician & Journalists. Here is a few photos taken in the Mongolian Capital city
The smog arriving from the Ger city into the downtown area
The full story is available here
Tim Franco is a documentary and commercial photographer available for assignment all over asia.
herders in the Mongolian Steppe
Last month, I had the chance to travel back to Mongolia to work on a story about Democracy and the coming presidential election for Monocle Magazine. We have spent an intense week meeting all kinds of interesting characters from herders to the probable future president of the country. Here are few photos taken in the steppe.
Tim Franco is available for editorial and commercial assignment all over Asia, please contact him at timfranco@gmail.com and follow him on istagram @timfranco
First Light - Fishing in the Celtic Sea | Documentary Photographer
While back in Brittany for the summer ( western part of France where my family is from ), I traveled to a small village of fisherman in the remote part of the region to start a new photography project. While the main project just started, I also did a mini series while going fishing with some local fisherman in the Celtic Sea.
We left around 2.30 am to reach the the trawling point at sunrise around 5.30 to 6 am. The boat is trawling his net at the bottom of the ocean three to five times per fishing sessions. The main catch is Langoustine but about 20 to 30 % of the revenue is still made with other fishes , squids, crabs and other kinds of ocean creature that get caught in the net. 15 to 17 hours are spent on the sea every day on the weak and the work can be dangerous especially in big waves when the boat is rocked in every direction. Accidents can happen quickly
This series is available for editorial usage | please contact me at timfranco@gmail.com
Chongqing Portfolio | Le Monde
My Chongqing Portfolio - Vertical Communism was published in Le Monde.
