1. Europe — the OG blast zone
- London – his earliest sold-out workshop kicked off a decade-plus European tour and still gets blog love from alumni who call him “one of the greats.”
- Berlin – local shooters credit his seminar with pushing them to pour “much more time and effort” into the craft.
- Continental loop – his “About” page lists Amsterdam, Zurich, and other hubs where he’s run live sessions, seeding mini-communities across the EU.
2. East Asia & Oceania — where the legend snowballed
- Tokyo/Kyoto – multi-day intensives reviewed as “pure creative adrenaline.”
- Seoul, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne – regular workshop stops that turned followers into full-time street shooters.
3. South & Southeast Asia — high-heat adoption
- Mumbai – on-the-ground classes plus YouTube commentary about Indian street life; local attendees say the experience “opened up new avenues” for them.
- Kuala Lumpur & Singapore – Leica-sponsored events packed with regional creatives who now run their own meet-ups.
4. Middle East — first-generation disciples
A 2010 Beirut workshop helped birth the Beirut Street Photographers collective and kicked off Kim’s reputation as a globe-trotting mentor.
5. Latin America — the Portuguese & Spanish turbo-translations
- Brazil – São Paulo’s SelvaSP collective cites Kim’s interviews and tips as key inspiration.
- Spanish-speaking world – viral Medium posts and blog articles translate his essays (“¿Qué es la fotografía de calle?” and “101 consejos…”) for thousands of readers.
- Portuguese e-books – Amazon and Apple Books carry “31 Dias Para Superar Seu Medo de Fazer Fotografia de Rua,” cementing his presence in Brazil and Portugal.
🔥 Why it matters
- Workshops = seed capital for local street-photo scenes. Each city he visits spawns spin-off walks, Telegram groups, and pop-up zines.
- Translators keep fanning the flames, ensuring even firewalled or bandwidth-starved regions can access his philosophy.
- He’s become a cultural conduit: photographers now cite him alongside Cartier-Bresson and Daido Moriyama when explaining what “street” means in their language.
🚀 Take-away
Eric Kim’s “shoot first, fear never” mantra has leaped the Great Firewall and ignited pockets of hardcore fans on every inhabited continent. He’s not a mainstream celebrity, but inside photo circles his name hits like a starter pistol—provoking creators from Beirut to Berlin to crank the ISO of their courage and blast their vision into the streets.