Arin Yoon

Photographer and Visual Artist

arinyoon.com

Motherhood and the Military

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Location: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Nationality: Korean American

Biography: Arin Yoon is a Korean American documentary photographer, visual artist, and arts educator based in the greater Kansas City area. Her work focuses on the military, families, and women and issues of representation and identity. Arin is a... MORE

Self-portrait at a B&B ...tations, Leavenworth, KS, 2014.

Self-portrait at a B&B in between duty stations, Leavenworth, KS, 2014.

Motherhood and the Military (2013-Present)

I arrived at Fort Irwin, California, in 2013 without knowing much about military life. I started making pictures in order to engage with and learn more about this community. I soon fell into a familiar rhythm of packing and unpacking as we moved from California to Kansas to New Jersey to Georgia. My children were born in between moves and deployments. All along, I have documented this life, sometimes with a baby on my back, and at one point, I realized I was no longer an outsider.

Photography and writing published in National Geographic.

John holds Teo, the night befor...in 2015, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

John holds Teo, the night before leaving for his first combat deployment as a father in 2015, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Teo draws close to John, who we...ning exercises and deployments.

Teo draws close to John, who wears a hearing aid, in 2021, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Service members are at greater risk than civilians of hearing loss due to repeated exposures to high intensity noise such as small arms fire, artillery fire, and explosions from training exercises and deployments.

Mila touches the scar on John&a...while on a 15-month deployment.

Mila touches the scar on John's shoulder from being shot while on a 15-month deployment.

Teo waits to see his dad after ...in 2018, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Teo waits to see his dad after a nine-month deployment in 2018, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Jiyeong Laue cares for her daug...2014 in Fort Irwin, California.

Jiyeong Laue cares for her daughter, Serenity, behind their home in 2014 in Fort Irwin, California.

Denise and Andy Buissereth, bef...ent, Fort Leavenworth, KS 2015.

Denise and Andy Buissereth, before deployment, Fort Leavenworth, KS 2015.

Cheyenne Croney has journaled w...ove unconditionally.”

Cheyenne Croney has journaled while her husband was away on a year-long deployment to Guantanamo Bay. She wrote, "It’s been a challenge doing everything on my own especially when I’m not connected to my husband. The man I’ve built this life with that I love unconditionally.”

Homecoming. They arrive in the ...t mine. Fort Stewart, GA, 2018.

Homecoming. They arrive in the middle of the night. Eyes sleepy, searching for their families. They look like ghosts- in this space between deployment and home. Some of the soldiers are crying. Maybe it's just mine. Fort Stewart, GA, 2018.

Jennifer Herbek nurses her son,...esy of war," she says.

Jennifer Herbek nurses her son, Isaac, in Leavenworth, Kansas in 2014. "We all grew up fast, courtesy of war," she says.

Major Alice Kim, whose husband ...2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Major Alice Kim, whose husband is also in the Army, poses in 2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Alice Kim and her sons Jacob, N...2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Alice Kim and her sons Jacob, Nathan and Joshua in 2020, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Teo climbs in an 1117 Armored S...Fort Stewart, Georgia, in 2016.

Teo climbs in an 1117 Armored Security Vehicle during a family day visit to Fort Stewart, Georgia, in 2016.

Self-portrait through John&...ggles, San Bernardino, CA 2012.

Self-portrait through John's night vision goggles, San Bernardino, CA 2012.

Teo crawls through his father&a...t Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2015.

Teo crawls through his father's deployment gear in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 2015.

Ryder climbs a tree in a play a...iform, Richmond Hill, GA, 2017.

Ryder climbs a tree in a play army combat uniform, Richmond Hill, GA, 2017.

Teresa Wiles and her son Major ... her father served in the Army.

Teresa Wiles and her son Major Josh Wiles, and his daughter Mackenzie visit a house Teresa and Josh lived in from 1990 to 1992 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Between 2014 to 2015, Josh himself was stationed at the base with his wife Amber, who also lived in Fort Leavenworth as a child since her father served in the Army.