By Selena Rae
Commencing KCC’s Meet the Mentor: Book Talk with Jeong Youjeoung, and in light of the National Book Month Celebration, the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines introduces its newest offering, K-Lit: Turning Pages of Korea, A Modern Korean Literature Pop-Up Exhibit.
The interactive pop-up exhibit introduces us to the bestselling and leading authors of South Korea, led by the “Thriller Queen” herself, Jeong Youjeong, Cheon Myeong Kwan, author of Whale, Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, and the modern storyteller, Son Wonpyung.
Hallyu, the Korean Wave, has been splashing through the trenches of the world since the early 2000s. However, the emergence of Korean Literature has been slowly but steadily flowing through the literary scene. In 2016, The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang, won the International Booker Prize and led the Korean Literature Industry to take its first steps into the world. According to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), countless Korean literary works in different forms and genres are published and translated into over 40 languages globally.
In this pop-up exhibit, KCC brings us to the world of award-winning Korean literary pieces that bring new perspectives and colorful culture to the reading community.
Channel your emotions with the neuropsychological phenomenon Almond, written by Son Wonpyung, and write about your feelings at the Freedom Wall.
Almond was first published in 2017 and translated into English in 2020. The novel follows the story of Yunjae, born with a brain condition called Alexithymia. Yunjae’s brain condition affects his ability to feel emotions like fear or anger. The two almond-shaped neurons in his brain affect his chances to make friends. But his devoted mother and grandmother provide him with a safe and content life.
Join the swarm of bees and walk with the elephant as you look into the kaleidoscope world of Whale, written by Cheon Myeong-Kwan.
From a third-person perspective, Cheon Myeong-Kwan establishes the imaginary life at Pyeongdae as Chunhee, Geumbok, and the One-Eyed Woman’s paths cross each other. In this folkloric tale, we unearth what it is to be a woman in a fast-paced society like Korea, trying to make it in a sexist world. With magic realism and poignant satiric deliveries, we follow Chunhee and her massive elephant-like inexplicable strength, the Queen of Bricks, Geumbok, her exquisite beauty and whale-like entrepreneurial skills, and the One-Eyed Woman who remains to be name-less but finds solitude as the Mother Queen Bee of bees.
Cross the bridge and enter the gloom and grim world of Seven Years of Darkness, written by Jeong Youjeong.
It’s dark. It’s concerning. It’s been seven years full of twists with “Thriller Queen” Jeong Youjeong’s Seven Years of Darkness. A young girl’s dead body appeared at Seryong Lake seven years ago. For seven years, Sowon, son of a convicted mass murderer, was ostracized and unwillingly crept into the darkest shadows of his father’s crimes. While he tries to conceal his identity, one day, Sowon receives a package that promises to reveal the truth about the Seryong Lake murder case.
Jeong Youjeong, who recently held a series of book talks with KCC’s Meet The Mentor: K-Novelist Book Talk last October 10-11, 2023, was also present at the press launch of the month-long exhibit.
Immerse yourselves in the new world of Korean Literature and discover the rare gems and the brilliant works charting the local literary space as you grace through the exhibit.
(NOTE: Observe the following exhibit etiquette to ensure the safety of the books.)
The exhibit does not end there: the attendees and readers can join different activities when visiting KCC. Visitors can join the exclusive Minhwa (Art) Class and create their own Pressed Flower Bookmarks! Every Friday, from October 13 to November 18, the first 15 attendees can join the class from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Do you enjoy uncovering cryptic messages and solving riddles? Join the Book Hunt every Wednesday to Saturday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Stay tuned on KCC’s social media pages for the riddles posted every Tuesday (Oct. 17, 24, and Nov. 14, 24).
For more information about the activities and other announcements, make sure to follow KCC’s official social media accounts:
- https://www.facebook.com/KoreanCulturalCenterPH
- https://www.instagram.com/kccphil/
- https://twitter.com/KCCPHIL
K-Lit: Turning Pages of Korea Pop-Up Exhibit is open to all, with no admission fee, but can only accommodate 40 people at once. Visitors can attend the exhibit at the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, 59 Bayani Road, Taguig City, Metro Manila. The Pop-Up Exhibit opens at 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Mondays to Fridays, and 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM on Saturdays.
What are you waiting for? Discover new books that will take you into the colorful world of Korean Literature!
See you!
THE KREW | MNL 