By Honorary Reporter Marla Josephine Arbach from Canada
Photos = Seoul International Writers' Festival

This is a promotional poster for the 2022 Seoul International Writers’ Festival.

The 2022 Seoul International Writers' Festival ran from Sept. 23-30 and brought together over 30 writers from Korea and abroad under the theme "Beyond Narrative." 

Events were held in Seoul and included keynote speeches, readings, performances and conversations in diverse formats. The festival was held in Korean and English with simultaneous interpretation.

On Sept. 28, I attended online the "Writers in Conversation" event "A Bizarre Weather, Polar Bears, and I." Moderated by Han Sobeom at the Seoul Community Cultural Center Seogyo, the panel featured novelist and environmental activist Choi Sung-gak, poet and illustrator Shin Mi-na, and Scottish poet and essayist Kathleen Jamie (who also participated virtually) to share their thoughts on the environment. 

Before the live event, the three writers posted short essays on the topic on the Seoul International Writers' Festival website, which they referenced during the discussion.

The official program displays photos of the three writers participating in this session.

Choi said that given the biodiversity of the planet, humans are not important at all, saying their destructive actions are a direct cause of the impending climate apocalypse. He added that though people cannot stop doomsday from coming, if they act with compassion and wisdom in consideration of the wellbeing of all living things, they can delay doomsday.

Shin discussed her background of being from a rural area and a farming family, and her essay "Poem on My Houseplants" was an insightful reflection on the complicated human relationship with nature. She said people harm nature even when not intending to but that nature also heals, and it remains unpredictable and capable of surprise.

Jamie spoke about growing awareness of the climate crisis, adding that millions or even billions of people worldwide have lifestyles more in harmony with nature. She said she felt reassured by how the planet survived previous extinctions and was excited over the prospects of what the world will look like over the next 200 or 300 years.

I liked how each writer shared their perspectives on the environment and explained how they incorporated it into their works as writers. It was also exciting to see how they, despite different backgrounds, languages and forms of writing, interacted with each other on this topic. International exchange is an aim of the festival, and this panel definitely succeeded in that respect.

I was unable to attend any event in person, but hope that the videos will be posted on the YouTube channel of the Literature Translation Institute (LTI) of Korea, the event's organizer. Recordings from last year's event are available, along with a range of other resources that aim to promote Korean literature to the world.

This is a promotional poster for this year's Seoul International Writers' Festival

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.