Once Upon a Time in My Childhood... Yeongdeok Folktale Collection 'Donggodongrak'

A Project Where Residents Discover and Compile Stories into Children's Books

The Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation in North Gyeongsang Province is carrying out the 'Donggodongrak' project, a collection of old stories from Yeongdeok, which uncovers and records the hidden tales of nine towns and villages in Yeongdeok-gun.

Elderly residents of Wongu1-ri, Yeonghae-myeon, who participated in Donggodongrak.

Since 2022, 'Donggodongrak' has been held annually, with local residents personally visiting the nine towns and villages of Yeongdeok to meet with native elders, discover stories hidden in every corner, adapt them into fairy tales, and compile them into books that are easy for everyone to read.

Each year, the 'Donggodongrak' story collection is written by local writers or residents who are members of literary clubs, based on interviews with village elders, while the illustrations are drawn by elementary school students. This year, in collaboration with a fairy tale reading club, the project plans to have children listen to the stories and use their imaginative drawings as illustrations.

In particular, this year's Yeongdeok old story collection 'Donggodongrak' will include a supplement featuring the stories of elders at risk of dying alone, in collaboration with the Yeongdeok Welfare Foundation, aiming to reach out to those who are socially marginalized. Additionally, works written directly by local elders, beyond just oral stories, will be included to create a more in-depth book.

The 'Donggodongrak' project, which began last July, has already completed interviews with elders in nine villages, including Deoksan 2-ri in Dalsan-myeon and Singi 1-ri in Changsu-myeon, and residents belonging to literary clubs are currently working on the writing.

A village resident who participated in this year's 'Donggodongrak' project emphasized, "As the elderly population increases every year, many stories are disappearing from Yeongdeok, so it is urgent to record them as soon as possible," adding, "It is meaningful and rewarding to take part in the work of discovering and preserving stories and culture unique to Yeongdeok."