‘Mokpo’ Immersed in Literature and Arts... Night Festival, Literature Expo Opens

Colorful Literature and Art Events Held Across the Region Until the 10th

Through the opening of the exhibition on the 7th, Mokpo City is sharing diverse literature. Photo by Mokpo City

[Mokpo=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Jeollanam-do Mokpo City shines with literature and modern historical culture ahead of the holiday.

The ‘2021 Mokpo Literature Expo,’ which opened on the 7th, will run until the 10th with various exhibitions, lectures, and experience programs held around Mokpo Literature Hall, Peace Square, and the old downtown area.

On the 8th, the Chabeomseok Academic Conference and Citizen Poetry Recitation Contest will be held at Mokpo Literature Hall. On the Fringe stage, diverse genres of art such as ‘Autumn... The Scent Drawing Dance,’ ‘Understanding and Appreciation of Poetry and Our Songs,’ and ‘Music Infused in Literature, Meeting through Art Songs’ will be presented.

At the Alleyway Literature Hall, a literary family talk with literary critic Hwang Hyunsan’s younger brother Hwang Jeongsan will take place, and at the Warehouse Small Theater, a reading performance of Chabeomseok’s one-act play will be held.

On the 9th, the Park Hwaseong Literature Festival, Korean Sijo Poets Conference, Women Writers Conference, and Literature Concert will be held at Mokpo Literature Hall. On the Fringe stage, there will be an art book magic show, So-Young Park Hwaseong writing contest and youth poetry recitation contest, a drawing & talk show with the webtoon artist from SomeToon (Mohito Mohican), and Wonderful Mokpo Road performances. At the Alleyway Literature Hall, a literary family talk with Choi Inhoon’s eldest son Choi Yungu will be held. At 7 p.m., the Mokpo Literature Award ceremony will be held on the maritime stage at Peace Square.

On the last day, the 10th, the Kim Hyun Literature Festival, Citizen Poetry Recitation Contest, and Kim Hyun Poetry Song Concert will be held at Mokpo Literature Hall, and on the Fringe stage, the performance ‘The Corona Plague in Joseon Sound!’ will take place. At the Alleyway Literature Hall, the play ‘Lee Youngnyeo,’ starring local residents as actors, and a concert by singer An Chihwan and poet Jeong Hoseung will be held.

The Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour, which harmonizes well with modern cultural history, will be held in Mokpo from the 8th to the 10th. Photo by Mokpo City

From the 8th to the 10th, the ‘2021 Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour (Yahaeng)’ will be held around the modern historical cultural spaces in the old downtown area.

This year, the night tour will be conducted both in-person and online across eight separate spaces with about 20 programs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure safe event operation. Major programs can be viewed live on the Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour YouTube and Facebook channels.

This year’s night tour, under the subtitle Mokpo Modern Times, begins with an original musical adaptation of Park Hwaseong’s novel ‘Sewer Construction,’ which realistically depicts the 1930s labor movement and the lives of lower-class workers, to shed new light on meaningful history in modern literature.

At the Modern History Museum Building 2, a fashion show expressing modern times through costumes, a traditional dance performance by the late dance master of Mokpo, Woo Bong Lee Maebang, and a musical walk presenting modern culture through music will be held.

At the Seongok Memorial Hall and Gyeongdong Cathedral, performances by three Mokpo intangible cultural heritage holders featuring pansori titled ‘Meeting the Masters,’ Korean era-specific song performances, reading plays by the ‘Modern Traveling Theater Company,’ and ‘Serenade of the Autumn Night,’ a blend of sinpa drama, dance, and song, will be held daily to soothe citizens weary from COVID-19.

At the former Mokpo Public Sim Sang Elementary School auditorium, a jade craft demonstration and exhibition with commentary by Jang Joo-won, a national intangible cultural heritage holder of jade craft, will be held, and vacant houses within the modern historical cultural space will be transformed into exhibition halls showcasing photos and paintings of Mokpo through different eras.

The city will operate performances with limited audiences in separated spaces considering the COVID-19 situation, and a space where visitors to the modern street can relax while watching independent films and film music has also been prepared.