Reflecting on Our Lives Through Literature... 'Literature Week 2024'

Stages Utilizing Literature Set Up Across the Country
'Samguk Yusa' and 'Hyeolui Nu' Also Revealed at Cheongwadae

A festival discussing the meaning and value of literature and sharing it with the audience will be held.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Arts Council Korea announced on the 25th that ‘Literature Week 2024’ will take place from the 27th of this month to the 1st of next month at various locations nationwide, including Marronnier Park in Daehangno, Seoul. The festival will showcase various side stories expanding around literature, such as behind-the-scenes tales from the fusion and creative processes with other fields, and reinterpretations of characters in novels. It encourages the reconstruction of stories from our everyday lives that we might have overlooked.

The opening ceremony will be held on the 27th at the Arko Small Theater. Poets Kang Woo-geun and Shin Mina, along with singer Harim, will perform under the theme “Remaining in the Low and Poor Places.” The following day, critic So Yoo-jung and novelists Kang Hwa-gil and Choi Eun-mi will discuss “To the Next Page, Expanding Novels,” while writers Yoon Hae-seo and Seo I-je and singer Arle will talk about “In Every Moment of Silence.”

At the closing ceremony on the 1st of next month, author Cheon Seon-ran, who wrote the novel Cheon Gae-ui Parang (A Thousand Blues), director Kim Tae-hyung, actors Song Moon-seon and Seo Yeon-jeong, and singer Jin-ho will take the stage. They will exchange thoughts on the process of reinterpreting Cheon Gae-ui Parang as a musical.

Stages utilizing literature will also be prepared outside the metropolitan area. In Busan, a one-person play and drama therapy based on Hakgyoe Gan Kkareureu Manyeo (The Giggling Witch Who Went to School) will be held. In Daegu, a book talk comparing the emotional expressions of literature and dance and a Salpuri dance performance will take place. In Cheongju, there will be literary readings themed on yoga, yoga movement education based on works, and in Gangneung, poetry readings and a pop-up photo exhibition will be held.

During the festival, a space inspired by Olga Tokarczuk’s novel The House of Day, House of Night will be presented at the Marronnier Park Multipurpose Hall. Choreographer Go Kwon-geum and actress Kang Hye-ryeon will appear for a special performance.

An exhibition showcasing materials marking historical milestones of Korean literature will also be prepared. Titled “The Pulse of Korean Literature,” it will be held on the first floor of the Blue House Press Hall until November 24th. Rare materials owned by the National Museum of Korean Literature will be displayed, including the Samguk Yusa, which contains the first recorded Dangun myth, Yongbieocheonga, the first creative work in Hangul, and Hyeol-ui Nu by Lee In-jik, a modern new novel.