Meeting Yoon Dong-ju and Lee Sang at Cheongwadae... 'Literature Special Exhibition' Opens Today

Yeom Sang-seop and Hyeon Jin-geon Families Attend Special Exhibition Celebration

Portraits of Hyun Jin-geon, Yi Sang, and Yun Dong-ju (from left) on the cover of Literature and Thought.
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Works containing the anguish and passion of writers active around Bukaksan and Inwangsan Mountains will be exhibited at the Blue House Chunuchu Hall.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 21st that it will open a special exhibition titled "Lee Sang, Yeom Sang-seop, Hyun Jin-geon, Yoon Dong-ju, Strolling through the Blue House" in collaboration with the National Korean Literature Museum. The exhibition held at the Blue House Chunuchu Hall is the second special exhibition following the special exhibition for artists with disabilities held last September.

The opening ceremony is especially meaningful as the bereaved families of Yeom Sang-seop and Hyun Jin-geon, the main figures of the special exhibition, will attend. Also expected to attend are literary critic Kwon Young-min, honorary professor at Seoul National University, Kim Jong-gyu, director of the Samsung Publishing Museum, and Kang In-sook, director of the Youngin Literature Museum, who represent the sponsoring institutions of this special exhibition.

A time has also been arranged for young active poets Oh Eun and Hwang In-chan to recite representative works of the exhibiting writers. Oh Eun, well known for "I Had a Name," will recite Yoon Dong-ju's "Counting the Stars at Night," sharing the writer’s heart that counts small beings as if counting stars. Hwang In-chan, familiar to the public for "Repetition for Love," will recite Lee Sang’s "Mirror," expressing a wish for a bright tomorrow through literature, which reflects our lives and inner selves like a mirror.

This exhibition is special in that it is the first time the National Korean Literature Museum is publicly displaying its Korean literary materials. Rare items such as the first edition of Yeom Sang-seop’s representative work Mansejeon, the first edition of Hyun Jin-geon’s Joseon’s Spirit, the first edition of Kim Ki-rim’s Gisangdo edited by Lee Sang, and the first edition of Yoon Dong-ju’s Sky, Wind, Stars, and Poetry will be showcased.

Through a total of 97 exhibition materials, including 91 books, 4 original author portraits, and one each of photographic and newspaper materials, visitors to this special exhibition will be offered a fulfilling and memorable experience.

The "Chunuchu Hall Literary Special Exhibition" will be open to the public free of charge without prior application from the day after the opening ceremony, the 22nd, until January 16, 2023. Visiting hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM every day except Tuesdays, which are closed days.