Korean Expat Community for National Disasters

• 목록

Hello friends!

Last week, I got the opportunity to visit the Kim You-jeong literature village, which was dedicated to honoring Kim You-jeong, the representative writer of Chuncheon during the 1930s. He was the author of the famous novels Spring, Spring, and Camellia. It is located in his hometown, Sille village, Sindong-myeon, which was his birthplace, in order to commemorate Kim You-jeong, who left various great short story novels of Korea’s modern times. The village was opened in 2002, and now it has the birth home of Kim You-jeong (with the square-shaped structure, which is the typical hanok-traditional Korean house style), Kim You-jeong’s Story House, a special exhibition hall, and an outdoor stage. The house is equipped with his rehabilitated house, an exhibition hall, a treadmill, a cowshed, a rest room, and a pond. It sponsors various annual events, such as literary seminars and ceremonies, in memory of Kim You-jeong. The Memorial Hall exhibits artifacts and offers information about Kim You-jeong's life and career. Three-dimensional exhibitions and videos about Kim You-jeong's works and life are displayed at his Story House. Its outside is decorated with a variety of sculptures that were created using themes from Kim's short story novels. And also, there are some activity rooms to participate in Hanji handcraft experiences, Hanbok experiences, ceramic experiences, and folk painting experiences.

He was born on February 12, 1908, and on March 29, 1937, Kim You-jeong passed away in poverty and sickness from pulmonary tuberculosis at the youthful age of 29. So, his literary career seems to have continued for four or five years. However, during the two years leading up to his death in 1937, he wrote more than 30 novels and ten essays, opening up a new horizon in Korean literature.

After seeing the Literary Village, it is advised to stroll along Sille Story Road. The Sille Story Road is a literary route made up of the locations that appeared in Kim's writings and served as the setting for his hometown.