LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
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Readings
A Poetry Reading by Poet Kim So Yeon “Second Floor Guest Lounge”
Second Floor Guest Lounge Today I found a flowerpot had chippedthe chip nowhere to be seenThe sprouts spreading their rolled-up leavesThe whitely spreading breathWhat if . . .I mean what if . . .I thought this about 50,000 timesI’m becoming a what ifThinking too muchturns me into thoughtI open the doorput my thoughts floating like dust on my palmand blow it away like freeing a spiderPutting my hand into the darkI offer a handshakeA scientist’s “I don’t know”is because they lack an explanatory theoryThe piled-up packets of pills on the table of a long-term patientTo begin untangling the mess of chords behind the machinesYou don’t have to answer any questionsYou can say something else that’s true insteadAbout how it seemshow it isn’tand how it can only be soEveryone shouts back they’re listeningThe shouter keeps shouting the listeners start shoutingNo one just listens anymore translated by Anton Hur
By Korean Literature Now
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Book For You
[Book for You] I love my daughter, but I feel alone.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello! We’re the book prescribers, providing comfort in your time of need through the medium of books.I’m Sohn Jeong-seung! Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk, the man who speaks through poems. Kim: It’s said that even married couples often feel lonely.This is especially true of women, who generally do the childrearing.In many of these cases, these women report feelings of depression and loneliness. Sohn: I think our letter this time is experiencing something similar.Let’s listen to it together. Kim: This letter comes to us from Thoraia in Egypt. Thoraia’s letter to Book for You I am the mother to a young daughter who will be turning three years old soon. Sometimes I find myself crying from stress and loneliness. It's hard to be doing all the childcare when I work as well and my husband comes home late each day. I used to think I was happy, but not anymore. I love my daughter, but at the same time I feel alone. Sohn: When I saw this letter, my thoughts immediately went toTo the Lost Name, a collection of interrelated short stories by the writer Kim Yi-seol. The subtleties of this type of book lie in the way little details connect each story to one another.This collection features four married women who each star as the main character of her story—women who pass tissues to one another in the hospital or a café,or happen to find themselves viewing the same artwork in the hospital lobby. The waiting patients were stealing glances at So-yeong, but her tears kept flowing without end. The middle-aged woman sitting next to her passed her a tissue she’d fished out of her handbag. She briefly met the eyes of a married woman walking to the examination room after being called, whose gaze said she understood So-yeong completely.From “Lost Child” Sohn: The lobby of the hospital in this story has a Rothko hanging on the wall.Mark Rothko apparently once asked for his paintings to be viewed from a distance of 18 inches (45 cm). The literary critic Park Hye-jin, who provided commentary on this collection, refers to this distance not as one of observation, but as a “distance of participation.” Thoraia, I hope that you’ll never forget that there are precious people around you who can pass you a tissue from eighteen inches away, even if they may be far away in body if not in spirit. I also hope that you’ll never forget your name,as that’s also something Kim Yi-seol asks of her readers. Kim: Though we take our individuality for granted up until marriage,it’s easy to forget once you have children that you’re more than just a parent. I think the words “Don’t forget your name” will be a great comfort to us all. “Think of your loved ones who will call your nameand pass you a tissue from 18 inches away.” Kim: Listening to this letter reminded me of when I was caring for my three-year-old.Back then, I think I was even more exhausted mentally than I was physically. Children need to be watched constantly, even if they aren’t doing anything special,and their needs met whenever they arise. You’re not really using your head much, just staring at your kid all day long.While I was spending my time spacing out like that, I knew my friends would be reading and studying and working, and I think it was this idea that they’d all be leaving me behind that made me feel more depressed. To console Thoraia in her time of loneliness,here’s an excerpt from Park Joon’s poem “Autumn Words.” You’re lonely, right? But that’s not loneliness if you look there’s someone who’s thinking about you they’re lonely too that makes two alone then that’s not loneliness, From “Autumn Words” Kim: How’s that?I think all I can do is recommend overcoming your lonelinessby finding comfort in others who feel just as alone. There must be others near you who like poetry and Korean literature.I have faith that in the process of reading together, a club of one could become two, and then three, and then ten, letting you conquer your loneliness at least a little. “May one and one come together to fill up the space of loneliness…” Sohn: The idea that “two alone is not loneliness”is a great comfort for me as well. Hoping that our words today will shine a light in the darkness for Thoraia,we’ll say our goodbyes for now. Kim: Book for You: Sohn: A book for you! Bye! Today’s Prescriptions: To the Lost Name & We Could See the Rainy Season Together Translated by Jean Kim
By Korean Literature Now
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The Place
Hi hi! I’m Florian, your guide to The Place.It’s good to meet you! If you’ve ever visited Seochon, you probably knowthat there are a ton of independent bookstores hidden in the backstreets of Seochon. And here we have… Seochonbooks! Seochonbooks A curated bookstore selling a careful selectionof interesting books,where people who have read the same book meet upfor a variety of book clubs. Most of the furniture is hardwood, making the space feel really warm and cozy.It’s nice! Oh, look up! Seokkarae: rib-shaped rafterssupporting the roof of a traditional Korean house. I think I’ve seen this a lot in Gyeongbokgung Palace.This is a hanok (traditional Korean house) too. And right next to us are a bunch of books.There’s a sticky note on the cover of each one.What’s that about? I’m going to see if there’s any book I recognizeand if that one has a note on it too, I’ll read it.Here’s one! Concerning My Daughter, by Kim Hye-jin The note says:“Relationships aren’t easy, no matter how much you practice.”That’s right. I think these comments are more like background information or reviews than summaries. The first thing to catch your eye when you’re buying a book is the cover, right?Or the title. But I think it’d be goodto choose based on the comments on the notes too. There’s a notice on the wall. Shall we take a look? The “best of best” corner, for books that have passed the three-step process:Recommendation - Discussion - Selection I think I’ve read this one before! Simple Truth, by Cho Hae-jin “I close read this book for the fourth time as part of a book club!”I guess it means they gave it a thorough read. There’s a note on every book here too.I wonder who wrote these?Note Writer, over here please! Florian(F): It’s nice to meet you! Owner of Seochonbooks(Ha): Thank you for coming. F: So you handwrote all these notes? Ha: Yes, I wrote them myself. F: After reading all these books? Ha: Yes, I’ve read all the books in this store. F: I’d like to hear some more.Shall we sit down to talk? Ha: Yes, let’s. F: How long have you been running this bookstore? Ha: It’s been six years since I started. F: Six whole years?Same as me! This is my sixth year living in Korea. Ha: Oh, really? F: What sets this bookstore apart from the rest? Ha: The first is choosing interesting books!And the second is using those interesting books to gather people for interesting talks.Those are our book clubs. F: When did you start holding those? Ha: Actually, I’ve been hosting book clubs since before I opened this store. I used to be a book club instructor,but I came to think, “I should call people to me instead of running around like this,”and so I decided to open a bookstore.In the course of scoping out a good location, I found this little space in Seochon.I thought, “This is it,” and I set up shop here. Another thing that sets this bookstore apartis that there’s a really diverse age range to our book clubs. Our youngest member to date was ,and we’ve had college students, grad students, homemakers, even sixty-somethings. F: The viewers watching this video are actually overseas readers!Please introduce Seochonbooks to them. Ha: This bookstore is constructed as a hanok,and we show you all the books’ covers. If you come by and look at the titles and covers together,you’ll be able to find some amazing books. F: Did everyone hear that?Be sure to swing by whenever you can!- Behind the Scenes - F: I’d better drop by with my girlfriend later to take a look around before we start our date. Ha: Please do! F: I’ll be off now. Ha: It was nice talking to you. F/Ha: Thank youYou’re welcome! Bye Bye~ Translated by Jean Kim
By Korean Literature Now
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Book For You
[Book for You] I Still Miss My Father.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello!Providing comfort through the medium of books,I’m Sohn Jeong-seung, the book prescriber! Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk, the man who speaks through poems. Kim: Everyone needs somebody to depend on.But what happens if one day, that somebody disappears? Sohn: Today we’d like to introduce the story of someone who is strugglingwith the absence of the father she considered a lifelong mentor. This letter comes to us from Yara in Egypt. Yara’s letter to Book for you My father was always kind. He granted my every wish, combed my hair, and took me on picnics to the beach. Ever since he passed away, it feels like everything is over. It’s been fifteen years, and I have work and hobbies to fill my time, but whenever I remember my father, I just wish I could return to the past. Will I ever stop feeling this way? Kim: I think it’s all too natural to long for a loved one even after their death, and to wish to return to the past. But I wonder if Yara could become someone who yearns for the pastand misses her father even while living a full life in the present,as some pasts, feelings, and memories are never really overcome.I don’t think it’s a bad thing to acknowledge that. So my prescription is “Catch That Spring,” by the poet Kim Hyesoon. Some things can’t be helped this way or thatSpring takes my mother like a swaddle made of flowers Catch that springI flail my hands like a woman blindfolded(…) No, the flowers can’t bloomNo one can I say the magic words From "Catch That Spring" Kim: Sensing that her mother will pass away come spring, the poet records in the form of a poemher wish that the season of blooming flowers might never come. The poet, Kim Hyesoon, lost her mother as well.But she preserved her final feelings in a poem,revisiting her longing for her mother again and again in its reading. I think that Yara’s father will only truly disappear from this worldif she stops missing or remembering him. So I hope that she can lead a healthy life in the presenteven as she continues to miss her father and look back at the past. As long as it lives on in memory, love never disappears. Sohn: I too could feel in the letter how much Yara and her father loved each other,I finally decided on Jeong Ji A’s novel, My Father’s Liberation Journal. Sohn: This book begins with the sudden death of the narrator’s father,who passes, absurdly, by hitting his head on a telephone pole.The novel takes place over the course of the three days of her father’s funeral,as the narrator comes to discover a new side of her fatherin the strangers who come to pay their respects. Though she’d always thought of her father as someone who struggled to stay afloat,she learns that there were people who were able to get surgery or marriedthrough her father’s help, and that his little brother who seemingly hated him all his lifeactually loved him deeply. In this way she comes to see the many different facets to her father,and to look ahead to the future. Father was gone, but snapshots of him were preserved in the hours of someone’s memory, to return vividly to life whenever he was remembered. A wave of longing came over me for the innumerable snapshots of my father that must exist within my own hours.From My Father’s Liberation Journal Sohn: Yara, I think your broken heart must trouble you often. But one thing I dearly hope you’ll rememberis that there is no set timeline for mourning. Everyone inevitably needs a different amount of time to overcome grief,whether that be one year, or ten, or twenty.We hope that with time, your life will begin to fill with quiet joys as your sorrow gradually fades, leaving in its placean abundance of love and beautiful memories. There is no set timeline for grief.Someday the sorrow in your heart will be overtaken by beautiful memories. Kim: Someone once said, “Scars are proof of how much we have loved.And so scars are beautiful things.” We’ll end today’s story on this note, in hopes that these words will be of comfort to Yara. Kim: Book for You— Sohn: A book for you! Bye! Today’s Prescriptions:After Earth Dies, Who Will Moon Orbit? & My Father’s Liberation Journal Translated by Jean Kim
By Korean Literature Now
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The Place
Hi hi!I’m Florian, your guide to The Place.Nice to meet you! In the midst of the climate crisis affecting the whole globe,I’ve come to Seochon because I heard there was somewhere very special here. And that Place is…Gildam Space, a “green bookstore”! Gildam Space A multipurpose cultural space offering a little gallery, meeting space, coffee, tea, and a small “green bookstore” selling books on the climate crisis, ecology, and the environment. It’s really quiet and peaceful inside. If you look over here, you’ll see a collection of past volumes of The Green Review,and next to that, a poster for a lecture related to the climate crisis. Climate Crisis, Capitalism, Democracy: The Green Review and “The Value Beyond Values” I can see why they call this a “green bookstore.” Aha!Let’s take a look.Here’s The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming and Earth of All. And this one, The Disaster Tourist, is an award-winner!Winner of the 2021 Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger awarded by the UK Crime Writers' Association, huh.Ooh, I should read that one later. And if you come out front,Oh! You can order drinks here.Fair-trade cashew milk? Could I get a glass of fair-trade cashew milk, please?I’m going to take a sip. Cheers! I can feel the power of fair trade!It’s so refreshing. Oh, can I ask how much this costs? Every drink in gildamspace here is sold at a flat “culture cost” of 5,000 won ( Five thousand won for culture costs? Of course I’ll pay!Thank you! I can see a space out back as well. I wonder what that is.Shall we take a look? There are some photos on display here.What’s this about?It looks like some kind of cultural event programming. It says “Opening Up Shop at the Vegan Festival.”It looks like they do events like this too. Something just caught my eye.There’s a beautiful hanok house outside the window. This is Sangchonjae, a hanok cultural space.Sangchonjae is a famous date spot too,so it’s perfect for going to the bookstore, and then taking your sweetheart on a date while you’re at it! So I’m going to meet with the director. Oh Mr. Director!Florian(F): Hello!Could you introduce yourself for the audience, please? Kim Seok-jin(Kim): I am Kim Seok-jin, the director of gildamspace. F: Pleased to meet you. F: How long have you been managing it? Kim: It’s been fourteen or fifteen years since this bookstore was founded,but I haven’t been managing it the whole time.My teacher and mentor Park Seong-joon founded it,then handed the management over to his juniors about four or five years ago. When this place started out,it was a bookstore selling across-the-board humanities books,but as everyone knows, the Earth’s pretty hot these days. F: Yep, it’s on fire today too. Kim: So about four years ago, we decided to focus our efforts onmaking a bookstore and book café that centered more specifically on climate concerns. F: The viewers watching this video are overseas readers!So it would be great if you could introduce gildamspace for their sake. Our bookstore’s name is “gildam.” Kim: “Gil” means “May we walk the road (gil) of happiness and peace together,”and “dam” means “fence,” as in the walls of a paddock or pen.It means, “In times of darkness or struggle, may we rest in safety.May we comfort and encourage each other within those walls.”That’s what “Gildam” means. Coming here as a foreigner, I’m sure there must be many spaces like this one abroad,and you won’t be able to experience much that’s traditional about Korea,but I think it’s a space that will allow you to experience firsthand how Koreans think and talk aboutissues of climate change or the question of how to coexist in peace. F: I’ll come back sometime too if I get the chance! Kim: Please do, and bring your sweetheart with you!F: Of course!Thank you for doing this interview today. - Behind the Scenes -F: So what are these books about? Kim: Since you’re so good at Korean, you should give these journals a try as well. F: Are these… treatises? Journals? Kim: Journals, yes, but there are a lot of treatises in them too. Translated by Jean Kim
By Korean Literature Now
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Book For You
[Book for You] I’ve Received Two Proposals.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello! Providing comfort through the medium of books,I’m Sohn Jeong-seung, the book prescriber! Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk, the man who speaks through poems.Sohn: They say that timing is everything in love.You can only fall in love if you both feel the same way at the same time,but the chances of that are slim. Kim: That’s what makes the couples who are in love right now so amazing—they’ve found each other despite those incredible odds. Sohn: Today’s letter-writer is struggling with just this timing in love.Let’s hear her story. Sarah’s letter to Book for You I was in love with one guy for five years, but no matter how much time passed, I couldn’t confess my feelings. I finally lost hope, even changing jobs because I found it too hard to face him any longer. A coworker in my new workplace proposed to me, but then my previous crush asked to meet. He told me that he’d liked me for years, but hadn’t had the courage to tell me due to his family circumstances. Now that the situation has improved, he wants to marry me. What should I do? Sohn: There’s a book I’d like to introduce Sarah to that I think is perfect for her situation:Contradictions by the writer Yang Gui-ja, which was first published in 1998and has been beloved by readers ever since. Sohn: The main character of Contradictions, An Jin-jin, is caught between two men.The first, Kim Jang-u, is an artistic soul,empathetic and thoughtful but poor.The second, Na Yeong-gyu, is well-off and loves Jin-jin deeply,but she is unable to feel what she thinks of as “true love” for him.Yet in truth Jin-jin knows which of the two she should choose for a smooth road ahead,both financially and emotionally. I was really curious. It didn't matter if it was Na Yeong-gyu or Kim Jang-u or somebody else. How and when would I be able to make up my mind and say, "Yes, I will marry him"? How did all those people who are married decide, anyway?From Contradictions Sohn: As Jin-jin’s ultimate choice is the great attraction of this book, I’ll keep that a secret.But I was just thinking— Jin-jin tries to show Jang-u only the best parts of herself,but in front of Yeong-gyu, she ends up showing even what she hides from Jang-u.Jin-jin doubted whether that was love,but I think that’s a form of love as well.In short, I hope you can follow your heart.I think that’s the only way to make a choice you won’t regret.Truthfully, I think that whomever you choose, there’ll be both regret and joy in that decision.I only hope that it’ll be possible to end things with whomever you didn’t choose with certainty and respect.We’ll be supporting you from afar! “Love is something done with the heart, not the head!” Kim: We’re all faced with the question of love at least once over the course of our lives.I think that in these moments, we must respond with love.Today, I’ve brought with me a poem by Hwang Inchan called “Where Is the Friend's House?” Yong-su was my friend, we often played together as kidsOut in the alleys all day[. . .]Whenever I met up with Yong-suI lost track of time catching dragonflies and skipping rocksThe day we played hide-and-seek in the sun shower I went back home so that Yong-su wouldn’t find me After that I never saw Yong-su againAnd even now when it rains on a clear day I remember back then Whenever anyone asks me about my first loveI tell them this storyFrom “Where Is the Friend's House?” Kim: The narrator of the poem simply had fun playing with Yong-su,whom they only thought of as a friend, and now doesn’t even know where he is.But looking back on that moment a long way down the road, they confess that was love.I’m very curious about what Sarah’s choice will be as well,but I think what’s most important is that, when it comes to questions about love,simplifying the question—for example, “Who is it that I love?”—and answering it with all our heart is the best any of us can do. “Questions about love should be answered solely with love.” Sohn: Sometimes, the more complicated the problem,the simpler you need to think to find its answer.I think that’s especially true of matters of the heart. Kim: Hoping this video will have helped Sarah to find her answer,we’ll say goodbye for now. Kim: Book for You Sohn: A book for you! Sohn&Kim: Bye! Today’s Prescriptions: Contradictions & Let’s Say This Is How I Feel
By Korean Literature Now
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The Place
“Have you ever seen a stuffed genius?” - Opening line of Yi Sang’s “The Wings”(The Wings, 1936/2001, tr. Ahn Jung-Hyo & James B. Lee) Hello!I’m Florian, your guide to The Place.When we think of the representative writer of the 1930s Korean literary scene,we think of Yi Sang.And the Place I’ll be introducing to you todayis Yi Sang’s House. Yi Sang’s HouseThis site is part of the lot for the house that Yi Sang, the representative writer of Korean literary modernism, lived in between the ages of three and twenty.It was purchased by the National Trust for Cultural Heritage in 2009, funded by a combination of public donations and corporate sponsorship, and has been preserved ever sinceas a space where visitors can encounter Yi Sang’s works and the traces of his life.This was the site of Yi Sang’s uncle’s house.Yi Sang lived here for nearly twenty years after being adopted by his uncle at the age of three.It was actually almost demolished in 2009.But thanks to public and corporate assistance,the National Trust for Cultural Heritage bought part of the lotand is still looking after it today.What a loss its destruction would’ve been!Let’s go right in.Oh, you can buy postcards right at the entrance.Let’s take a look.This is the style.Apparently, these are reproductions of drawings made by Yi Sang himself.This was an illustration for one of the writer Park Taewon’s works.He wasn’t just a great writer, but a great artist too!What’s this?Aha! Here are some books about Yi Sang and his work.Encounters Between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age, huh.Let’s take a look. This is a portrait of Yi Sang.Look.Wow, isn’t it incredible?Now, of course we should look at Yi Sang’s works as well,Look, everyone!This is the archive corner.There are so many of his works on display.And they’re organized by date.And here’s part of his most famous work, the poetry anthology Crow's Eye View.The letters are so small…But luckily there’s a magnifying glass,so we can read Crow’s Eye View from up close.Actually, Crow’s Eye View was originally serialized in a newspaper,but it was canceled before long.It’s such a complex and obscure workthat it received a lot of criticism from readers at the time,but, putting myself in his shoes,I think Yi Sang must’ve been really hurt by the reception of his work.Come to think of it, it can’t be easy to take care of all these works.Mr. Director!SangHyun Lee / Director (Lee) : How are you enjoying your visit?Florian Krapf (Florian) : Nice to meet you! Lee : Yes, it’s nice to meet you as well. Florian : But Director Lee, this layout feels familiar somehow.Lee : It’s modeled after the Palman Daejanggyeong (or Tripiṭaka Koreana) of the Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon.We’ve archived Yi Sang’s works in the style of the eighty thousand scripture plates shelved there.Florian : Oh, how beautiful.What’s that back there? Lee : We call this “Yi Sang’s Room.”It’s not the room he actually lived in,but it is a space embodying the description of “my dark and gloomy room”in his short story “The Wings.” Florian : Well then, we can’t skip that!Yi Sang’s RoomThis room recreating the dark and gloomy room of the narrator in “The Wings” allows visitors to experience Yi Sang’s literary vision.I just finished the video.I was told there’s something up those stairs too,so I’m going to see what’s up there.You can catch a glimpse of Inwangsan Mountain off in the distance.If you happen to visit, this is a great place for a selfie!A collection of Yi Sang’s works was recently translated into English,becoming the first Korean work to be awarded the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work.Despite spending his lifetime in obscurity and poverty,I think it was his tireless dedication to his vision that let Yi Sang make literary history.Unfortunately, Yi Sang is no longer with us today,but the traces of his life remain in Yi Sang’s House,located on a quiet side street in Seochon.We hope you’ll come visit someday! That’s all for today. Bye~ ByeBye-bye!Now, how about some food?
By Korean Literature Now
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Book For You
[Book for You] Over two years, I still can't get over him.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello everyone! We’re the book prescribers, providing comfort in your time of need through the medium of books.I’m SohnJeong-seung ! Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk, the man who speaks through poems! Sohn: There are some couples, whether they’re married or just dating, that are so different from each other that they always end up fighting. Kim: That’s right! Our letter-writer today is someone who’s struggling with the same problem.Let’s take a look. Sohn: Today’s letter comes to us from Phee in Nigeria. Phee’s letter to Book for You We loved each other, but we were always fighting, breaking up, making up, breaking up again… It was exhausting. We’ve been apart for over two years now, but I still can’t seem to get over him. What should I do? Kim: The reason it’s hard to advise Phee to just forget the past and move on isthat love is like a living organism, and some loves do come back to life.That said, I do want to say that the time and effort you’ve poured into a relationship doesn’t oblige youto stay bound to the past, keeping up a love that only hurts you.The most important thing to remember is that love is not pain.If anything, I think that love is the act of sharing pain to lighten its load.On that note, I’d like to introduce one of my favorite poems: “The Invention of Love,”from the poet Lee Yeong-gwang’s collection The Tree Is Going. You said that if ever you grew tired of living and living You’d dig a hole in the mountains where nobody goesAnd climb in and lie down and refuse to eat[ . . . ]So shocked was I that like lightning,Like lightning, I had to invent love.From “The Invention of Love ” Kim: I can’t say for sure what Phee’s decision should be, but I think it is worth thinking over at least once whether this is a love that saves one another, or one that only brings pain. The moment true love is invented, our pain disappears. Kim: You could say this is the essence of love the poet is writing about.I think that when Lee Yeong-gwang speaks of “the moment love is invented,” he’s referring to a love that saves a life. Sohn: I once took about five years to let go of a past love myself, so this letter really resonated with me.I thought a lot about which book to recommend to Phee, and I finally settled on the title story “Us” from Tomorrow’s Lovers, a collection of short stories by the writer Jung Young Su. Sohn: The narrator, a former editor, is approached by a couple looking to write a book about their romance. The story follows the narrator and the couple, Jung-eun and Hyeon-su , over the course of their brief acquaintance.Seeing these two as mature adults, the narrator comes to compare their relationship with his own love and is inspired to begin writing a letter to his ex, Yeon-gyeong. Unfortunately, that letter doesn’t come easy. My words were tiptoeing around the point. I had to speak to her directly—not in hollow symbols, but in my own raw voice. But in fact what I realized after I began writing was that, let alone what I wanted to say to Yeon-gyeong, I didn’t even know exactly how I felt about her. From “Us” Sohn: If you keep dwelling on the past, that can become a habit in itself, even if your ex no longer has an important place in your life. So what I want to say to Phee is that, even if you come to rekindle your love, I hope you’ll take the time to really consider whether this is right for you. The act of recalling the past is neither remembrance nor record,but reinterpretation and reinvention. Sohn: There’s an incredible twist at the end of “Us,” so I hope you can find your answer as you read the story through. Kim: Love is important too, but isn’t it true that we learn a lot through breakups? I think that one thing is for sure: farewells help us to grow up, and to grow stronger. Sohn: We’ve been receiving an amazingly diverse range of personal stories on the theme of “Love.”I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of story will be awaiting us next time. Kim: Then till next time… Book for You: Sohn: A book for you! Sohn&Kim: Bye! Today’s Prescriptions:The Tree Is Going & Tomorrow’s Lovers
By Korean Literature Now
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The Place
Yoon Dong-Ju Literature Museum: A Museum Dedicated to Korea's Most Beloved Poet
Foreword Wising not to haveso much as a speck of shametoward heaven until the day I die,I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves.With my heart singing to the stars,I shall love all things that are dying.And I must walk the roadthat has been given to me. Tonight, again, the stars arebrushed by the wind. Who is the most beloved poet in Korea?Korea’s own Yoon Dong-Ju.Today, in The Place, we will explorethe Yoon Dong-Ju Literature Museum.Let’s go! Florian KrapfCompeted in the Netflix reality series Physical: 100Guest starred in the MBC every1 series Welcome, First Time in Korea? Let’s see.We’ve come a pretty long way.Here it is, Yoon Dong-Ju Literature Museum.We’re here. The Place Seochon Literary Tour: Yoon Dong-Ju Literature MuseumFormerly a pressurization facility and multiple water tanks,the Literature House was designed to commemorate the works of Yoon,which were as inspirational as the pressurized pumpsthat allowed water to flow mightily.The first thing that caught my eye was this well.This was the actual well that sat in the poet’s house.“Self-Portrait” Coming round the mountain, I go up alone tothe solitary well at the edge of the rice field and peer in, quietly.[...] by Yoon Dong-Jutr. Kyung-Nyun Kim Richards, Steffen F. RichardsSky, Wind, and Stars, Asian Humanities Press, 2003 One of his poems is the work titled “Self-Portrait.”It also mentions a well.I believe he may have been inspired by this well. Behind me, you’ll see many photographs on display.They speak to the thoughts and contemplations that ran through Yoon Dong-Ju’s mind.Poet’s House (Gallery 1)The poet’s life is featured in chronological order across 9 displaysthrough photographs and prints of handwritten manuscripts.They tell of the poet’s thoughts on his art.I see the covers of many books on the other side.Excuse me. May I know what those books are? Jung Rin Kang / Docent (Kang) : Yoon Dong-Ju was a poet and writer but he was also a voracious reader.He was fond of Baek Seok and Chong Chi-Yong’s collectionsas well as Kim Yeongrang’s Yeong-rang Collection and The Eulhae Collection of Great Poems. Florian Krapf (Florian): It’s amazing that we get to experience the same thoughts and dilemmas he had. Kang : Yoon Dong-Ju would walk the lengths of Inwangsan Mountain and be inspired to write poetry.That was the reason this museum was built here. Florian: Let’s head to the next exhibition hall.Come with me. We are inside the second gallery.As you can see, it’s titled Open Well. Open Well (Gallery 2)Inspired by the well from Yoon’s “Self-Portrait,“the gallery features the open roof of a repurposed water tank.Wells held much significance for Yoon.The space was designed with that motif in mind. Let’s head to the third gallery.I hear something. Closed Well (Gallery 3)Closed Well has preserved a disused water tank in its original form.Videos of the poet’s life and art are screened in a roommeant for silence and self-reflection.The roof is closed, hence the title Closed Well.This is a great place for quiet contemplation. In 1941, Yoon collected 18 of his writings and “Foreword“to create the collection Sky, Wind, and Stars.Imprisoned for aiding in his country’s independence effort,Yoon died in prison after a year and a half.He passed away at the age of 27 without witnessing the publication of his collection. His works continue to shine and provide comfort to so many people.That is the power of literature.We hope you too can feel a measure of comfortfrom Yoon Dong-Ju’s poetry today. I’ll see you at our next place.Bye bye!
By Korean Literature Now
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Book For You
[Book for You] Is it a problem that I’m asexual?
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): We are book prescribers, providing comfort in your time of need through the medium of books. I’m Sohn Jeong-seung. Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk. Sohn: Today’s letter is from someone who was faced with rejection from others due to her asexuality, a sexual orientation that hasn’t received a lot of societal attention to date.Kim: This letter comes to us from Egypt, written by UGLY DUCK. UGLY DUCK’s Letter: "Is it a problem that I’m asexual?" I’ve never once fallen in love, and I’ve been single my whole life.But when I told others that I’m comfortable living this way, I wastold that I seem “not human.” Later I came to realize my identityas an asexual. It’s hard to find a partner without a sexualconnection when sex permeates everything. Do you know of anycases of asexual couples? Sohn: Discussing a kind of love that you’ve never personally experienced is something that needs to be approached with a lot of sensitivity, so this was a tough nut to crack, but who are we? Kim: Kim Sanghyuk.Sohn: And Sohn Jeong-seung, sending comfort through books!Sohn: You don’t know what a relief it was that we managed to find a novel that made us think “Eureka!” This is Bodies and Women, by the writer Lee Seo Su. Sohn: This book isn’t about an asexual couple,but it is one in which a woman who doesn’t feel sexual desire makes a sole confession in her own words about her body and her sexuality. Yeongseok, people say that a healthy life is one where you enjoy sex to your heart’s content, but people like me who don’t like sex exist too. To someone like me, words like those feel like a kind of violence[…] I want to use my body as much as I like for meeting up and talking with the people I like, and eating delicious food, and taking in beautiful landscapes, and drinking cool beer, and sleeping soundly, but not for sex[…] If I do have sex, I only want to have it with myself. Because I’m the only person who won’t wound my body, who can guess at the depths of my heart.From Bodies and Women Sohn: The writer speaks through this character to express the idea that creating standards for normality and pressuring someone into liberation is a different kind of oppression. The protagonist says that her existence is not wrong, but different. There’s a line I once read that said, “We read to know we are not alone” (William Nicholson, Shadowlands). I think it would be good for UGLY DUCK to read this book. There are no wrong existences. We are all just different. Kim: Every country is different in its culture, so I don’t think I can speak lightly about this matter, but what I can say for sure is that “living alone” is a personal choice. What we need is a good person we can connect with, not someone we share a bed with. So the book I’ve brought today is a collection of poetry by the poet Park Sang Su, I Won’t Leave You as a Soliloquy. Walking by the riverside, as my last impulse I make a call, “There are a lot of people here, people who wave their hands or rub their calves against the railing, people who look good for having somewhere to return to, I’m sure there’s someone who’d see me as the same, I don’t often take my pills and I can eat even less” From “Some Things Just Happen”Kim: Looking at the narrator’s situation, she can’t take the medicine she needs to, and she can’t even eat.Under these circumstances, she’s walking by the riverside, and it seems that she’s considering suicide. So she’s in need of someone to comfort her, and she makes this call. Because some things just happen, because they didn’t happen outof a hate for you, don’t try to punish the world by hurting yourselfanymore, this winter we should share frozen persimmons by thecoal stove. From “Some Things Just Happen”Kim: This is the reply she receives from the friend who picks up, who consoles her with these words: “No matter how hard things are, don’t try to take revenge on the world by hurting yourself. Let’s share delicious fruit by the warm stove.” If you have someone around you who can offer you comfort like this, I think it would make life worth living, even if you don’t live together. If you have someone by your side you can share comfort with, you’ve already formed a relationship that’s enough. Sohn: This series is about replying to your letters with messages of comfort through books, but this letter especially was a great comfort to us.Kim: Since this is such a great series, we’ll see you again next time with a new letter.Sohn: Book for You-Kim: Book for you!Sohn&Kim: Bye~Today’s Prescriptions:Bodies and Women & I Won’t Leave You as a Soliloquy
By Korean Literature Now
