Kim Jong-cheol's 'Dear You'... Book Talk at Tongui-dong 'History Bookstore' on the 15th

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Sideway Publishing will hold a commemorative talk for the publication of author Kim Jongcheol's book Gakbyeolhan Dangsin at 7:30 PM on the 15th at the History Bookstore in Tongui-dong, Seoul.

The talk will feature 12 participants including pianist Lim Hyunjung, who topped the Billboard Classical Chart; Lee Donghyun, CEO of Misillan Co., Ltd., recipient of the Daesan Rural Culture Award and the FAO Model Farmer Award; Shin Sunae, the protagonist of the film Missing Women and the real-life model for the poet in Jeon Taeil Pyeongjeon; Lee Byunggon, principal of Jecheon Gandhi School; translator Jo Younghak; and Kim Jeongnam, former Senior Secretary for Education, Culture, and Society at the Blue House, known as the 'behind-the-scenes planner of the democratization movement.'

Im Taehun, director of the Military Human Rights Center, will attend on behalf of the late Sergeant Byeon Heesoo. The book’s author, Kim Jongcheol, conducted the first and last interview of Sergeant Byeon Heesoo, the first openly transgender soldier who tragically ended her life in February 2021.

Having worked as a journalist for over 30 years and recently retired from Hankyoreh last month, Kim Jongcheol published Gakbyeolhan Dangsin in the same month. The book contains records of twenty individuals among nearly 150 people he interviewed over six years since 2016, focusing on those whose stories resonate most with us today.

Sideway Publishing stated, “The reason this book carries the title ‘Kim Jongcheol’s People Book Here and Now’ is because each of these individuals holds stories that we must carefully reflect upon, resembling very thick books that we should keep close to us going forward.” They added, “We hope many people will pay attention to the stories of these special individuals who, for a long time, have preserved their true selves without being swept away by the world, while contemplating coexistence and solidarity.”