My K- Fellowship to Korea 2017 :
“See Korea and be Enthralled”

by Dr. Elizabeth Ben-Iheanacho

It was altogether an amazing and enthralling cultural encounter for me to visit Korea in July 2017 as a K- Fellowship participant. Let me share some of my memories of a courteous, cultured and hospitable people with you…

The National philosophy of Korea can be summed as maintaining harmonious relationship between the past and the present, tradition and modernity. I encountered this in virtually every aspect of Korean life - in the harmonious blend of traditional architecture with modern plazas in the heart of Seoul, the co-existence of a digital human memory library playing host to an exhibition of family names and family trees, the numerous museums that are at once archival store houses and living community centers all in one; and, of course, the tourist attraction of the 7 Palaces that record huge turnout of foreigners exploring the splendor of the ancient history of Korea. 

I found the touristic use which the Palaces have been put most fascinating. The Change of Guard ceremony at the Deoksugung Palace is a must-see re-enactment out of a chapter in the history of ancient Korea adapted to modern social enlightenment purposes while the expanse of the Gyeongbokgung Palace is a living encounter of the splendour associated with Royalty.

A reading nation it is said to be a leading nation hence books play a central, dominant role in this land of calm and courtesy where creating (and reading) books is regarded as a spiritual labour. According to Eungchill, one of Korea’s activist poets, “If you don’t read books for one day, you’ll get a thorn in your mouth” and so every effort is made to ensure that books are a routine experience for Koreans. Hence, Paju, the Book City is a bibliophile’s paradise.

Continuing the national theme of Tradition and Modernity in Harmonious coexistence, Paju Book City, is committed to preserving paper books in the midst of the global threat that digitization poses to the traditional concept of the book. In addition, the Book City’s idyllic Guest House named Jiji Hyang (The Hometown of Papers) dedicates 19 of its 79 rooms to celebrity authors. Each of these rooms is designed with donated personal items connected to the writer’s art: pens, manuscripts, typewriters and a bit of their favourite things. Instructively, these special rooms do not play host to Television nor other such gadgets. Now, if this isn’t appreciation of the writer and this art, I don’t know what is!

Paju’s Book Museum also hosts a collector’s dream of rare books including a 400 year old book, one of the earliest written in Hanguel language.

Mention must be made of the role of the Korea Literature Translation Institute in bridging the role of making available philosophies and values expressed in other languages to Korean readers. This is a remarkable commitment worthy of emulation by multilingual nations such Nigeria. For complete report click below: