The Coal Mine Village: Jharia, India
Witnessing the Reality of Life on Burning Ground

Onbit Top 11 | Hakbong Kwon
The Coal Mine Village: Jharia, India
For over a century, underground coal fires have burned beneath the village of Jharia. This land, scarred by flames, is home to people who must destroy their own environment simply to survive.
Without government support, they live amidst toxic air and contaminated water—an existence that starkly exposes the contradictions of capitalism.
This project captures their reality using the visual language of commercial photography, rendering visible the emotional and structural distance between “them” and “us.”