Seoul Garage Doors: A Photo Series in Red, Yellow & Blue
A Photo Series in Red, Yellow, and Blue
Some of my favorite photographs come from subjects most people walk right past. In Seoul, that subject turned out to be the garage door.
This was somthing I started to notice by day 2, every pull down garage door was the same design. It just kind of started to be something you can’t ignore each time you walk past one. By day five I started to photograph them. Over the course of my 10 days in Seoul I was able to photograph over 30 of the 100+ of colorful garage doors I saw scattered across the city. They were bold red, sunny yellow, and deep blue, tucked into corners of Seoul I would never have found with a guidebook. What started as a passing observation became a full photo series, and one of the most rewarding street photography projects I’ve done.
What do the colors represent?
In traditional Korean thought, these three colors belong to obangsaek (오방색), the five directional colors, which also include white and black. The system comes from East Asian cosmology and ties each color to a direction, an element, and a season.
Blue (청, cheong): East, wood, and spring. It stands for growth, youth, and new beginnings. Traditional Korean “blue” often overlaps with green, so you’ll see it described as blue-green.
Red (적, jeok): South, fire, and summer. It stands for energy, passion, and protection from bad luck and evil spirits. That’s why red bean porridge is eaten on the winter solstice, and red has long been used in rituals and on talismans.
Yellow (황, hwang): The center, earth. It’s the most central and prestigious of the five and was historically linked to royalty and the cosmic center.
Why Seoul Garage Doors?
Seoul is a city of contrasts, with glass towers beside narrow alleys and centuries-old neighborhoods beside new development. In the middle of all that, the striped red, yellow, and blue garage door stands out against concrete, brick, and signage.
Once I noticed the first one, I couldn’t stop seeing them. Primary colors have a graphic punch that makes them natural subjects for urban color photography, and each door gave me a clean, bold anchor for a composition.
A Treasure Hunt Across the City
Every time I spotted a new door, it felt like finding a small prize. I wasn’t following a map or a list. I was wandering, looking up and down side streets, and finding them as I go. The hunt took me through residential backstreets, busy commercial blocks, smelly wet alleys, dark canvas lined markets, and no two doors felt alike.
That’s what kept the project fresh for me. The doors were the common thread, but the setting around each one changed everything:
Different neighborhoods: I covered ground in many parts of Seoul, so the series reflects the city’s range rather than one corner of it.
Different surroundings: Some doors sat in tight alleys, some faced open streets, and some were flanked by plants, parked scooters, signage, or weathered walls.
Different moods: Some were in dirty parts of town in dark alleyways while others were clean and new facing a bright lively street.
Tips for Photographing in Seoul
If you want to try a similar project, here’s what I learned:
Walk without a destination. The best finds happened when I wandered off the main routes.
Look at the whole scene. The door is the subject, but the surroundings are what make each frame feel unique.
Watch the light. Time of day changes how saturated and moody a color looks.
Be respectful. Their whole culture runs on respect for others, so be mindful of people’s space and privacy.
Keep a consistent approach. A shared framing style helps a varied set of locations hold together as a series.
Final Thoughts
This series reminded me that you don’t need a famous landmark to make a compelling image. Sometimes it’s a dirty garage door on a quiet street, found because you slowed down and paid attention. Thirty doors later, I came away with a deeper feeling for the city and a collection I’m proud of.