The creation of Hangeul, by King Sejong, was certainly the most important step in the development of modern Korean literature, as it radically increased the ease of literacy in Korea (today Korea is one of the most literate nations in the world) and it opened the doors to literature to women, the poor, and those…
The Daegu Literature Museum is allied with the Daegu Culture Museum, and for a 1,000 won entry fee for both, it’s one of the great bargains in Daegu. It is less than 3 minutes walk away from Daegu Station (Subway and non-KTX trains). Walk out of the station go slightly to the right, and at the…
For those of us in Seoul, LTI Korea has created a “150-year History of Korean Literature in Translation exhibit” at Seoul Metropolitan Library (in front of City Hall). The exhibition is open until the 27th, and the library itself is open every day EXCEPT Monday (9 to 9 on weekdays, 9 to 6 on weekends).…
Down in Jeonju to check out the Jeonju Hanok Village (which is awesome!) we came across the Choi Myeonghee Literature House. Myeonghee was previously unknown to me, but is obviously important in Korean literature, as the grounds were pretty big, stuffed with kids, a tour, and Yvonne and I. Anyway, we did find it, and…
This weekend I had a chance to visit Sonagi Village in Suneung-ri, Seojong-myeon Yangpyeong. Sonagi Village is a 7.5 hectare (18.5 acre) outdoor literature park in Gyeonggi province. The village is the literary museum of noted Korean author Hwang Sun-won, who wrote Sonagi, Cranes, The Dog of Crossover Village, and a variety of other classic…
While down on Jeju-do hiking the massively awesome Olle Trail, we ended up in Jeju-si for a couple of days and after some Korean sleuthing by the awesome “Translator” we were face to face with the Jeju Literature House (and, apparently, cafe). Here are the excellent instructions as the Translator gave them: The address of…
The Literary Village of Kim You-jeong, is located in a small village surrounded by mountains, just two subway stations short of Chuncheon. The village is on the new subway line to Chuncheon, which can be picked up at Sangbong station in Seoul. This line makes getting to Chuncheon (and the Kim You-jeong literary site) much…
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be chosen by Arirang for a filming opportunity. One of the places I was taken was a relatively out of the way and unknown (to English speakers) literary shrine, the Kim Satkat Culture Hall. This was cool to me, because Yi Munyol wrote a book, The…
The Korea Foundation Cultural Center Library offers books for expats and Koreans, cheap copying and printing, and internet access
The RASKB features publications, tours, and a library of Korean literature. It’s office, and friendly staff, also sells hard to find books.