Differentiated Activities by Bookstore, Time with Experts, and Healing Programs for Daily Recovery Held Until October
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Twenty neighborhood bookstores across 12 districts in Seoul, which have established themselves as local cultural spaces, will host various lifelong learning programs such as book talks, writing, and reading clubs with differentiated concepts by bookstore until October.
On the 25th, the Seoul Lifelong Education Promotion Institute announced that it had selected 20 neighborhood bookstores for the '2022 Our Neighborhood Bookstore Learning Center' project, which supports the operation of lifelong learning programs so that neighborhood bookstores can be reborn as local community and lifelong education spaces.
The 20 selected neighborhood bookstores in Seoul are ▲ Gaga77 Page (Mapo-gu) ▲ Science Bookstore Galda (Jongno-gu) ▲ Geunal-i Omyeon (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Kkotpineun Chaek (Yangcheon-gu) ▲ Dodo Bongbong (Dobong-gu) ▲ Maeum Chaekbang Seoganeun (Jongno-gu) ▲ Muare Bookstore (Dongdaemun-gu) ▲ Bright Bookstore (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Photo Bookstore Gorae (Jongno-gu) ▲ Salon de Book (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Soyoseoga (Jung-gu) ▲ Aunt (Gangdong-gu) ▲ One Table (Geumcheon-gu) ▲ Political Development Center (Mapo-gu) ▲ Bookstore Joichaekgam (Yongsan-gu) ▲ Bookstore Yeonhui (Mapo-gu) ▲ Chaekineun Dangnagwi (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Tollship Bookstore (Dongjak-gu) ▲ Trip Book & Space (Seongdong-gu) ▲ Pulmujil (Jongno-gu).
Now in its second year, the ‘Our Neighborhood Bookstore Learning Center’ has decided to expand offline programs following the recent lifting of social distancing measures. In particular, various lifelong education programs have been prepared so that office workers can conveniently engage in self-development on their way home from work during weekday evenings or weekend afternoons.
Looking at the programs, participants are supported to engage in creative and productive activities such as producing documentaries or making photo books themselves, in addition to book-based programs like book talks and writing.
Moreover, experts from various fields will serve as instructors to share knowledge. At a bookstore run by practicing lawyers (Gwanak-gu), programs are offered where lawyers explain laws such as labor law and constitutional law in an easy-to-understand manner. A program led by a current journalist and novelist who won this year’s New Year Literary Contest (Dobong-gu) also draws attention.
Programs that provide comfort to citizens exhausted after COVID-19 are also operated in various ways. At ‘Gaga77 Page’ (Mapo-gu), a book talk program (6.8~8.17) with a travel YouTuber and travel writer is held, and at ‘Maeum Chaekbang Seoganeun’ (Jongno-gu), a psychiatrist directly runs a program to care for the minds of citizens tired from COVID-19.
Citizens who wish to participate in the ‘Our Neighborhood Bookstore Learning Center’ programs can apply directly through the respective bookstores. Detailed information such as bookstore names, operating programs, and participation fees can be found on the Promotion Institute’s website or the ‘Our Neighborhood Bookstore Learning Center’ SNS. Kim Joo-myung, director of the Seoul Lifelong Education Promotion Institute, said, “I hope Seoul’s neighborhood bookstores will become convenient learning spaces for Seoul citizens who want to grow, and that they will be used as a channel for self-development for office workers on their way home. Following last year, we will actively support citizens to freely communicate in neighborhood bookstores and fulfill their role as local cultural spaces.”
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