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Here, we have eight books. They span across various genres, from poetry to diary, children’s story, photo diary, and essay. They touch on different themes from a puppy trying to escape in vain, to depictions of various scenes from life.

Here, we have ten writers. A teenage children’s story writer, poets in their 50’s and 70’s, a essayist in her 60’s, and sisters in their 70’s and 80’s. These writers differ in ages, genders, and what they write about.

The eight books written by these ten writers have two things in common. First, all of the writers live in Gwangju or Jeollanam-do. Second, they were selected for Danggeul Chulpan (We Publish Your Books), a project aimed at promoting the ACC Library Park.

In Dangeul Chulpan, experts at the ACC
help you publish what you wrote.
Realize the long-harbored dream
with ACC Library Park!

Danggeul Chulpan promotes public interest in ACC Library Park and its content and invites them to participate in the content as writers. Launched in 2021, the program receives fiction and non-fiction submissions from Gwangju and Jeollanam-do residents, and publishes a selection of the submissions into actual books. It matches writers with experts who will help them with the process of editing and publishing, which may not be readily accessible for individuals, thereby ensuring the quality of the end products. A total of eight submissions were selected for the Danggeul Chulpan program: My Dog Leaves Home, written by Shim Mi-so and illustrated by Mun Hye-yeon; Whispering in the Tree Shade by Park Jeong-in; My Life by Choi Yeong-sik, Yoga Affair by Lee Ga-yeong; Seo Seung-rye’s Writing Life by Seo Seung-rye; Fleabanes in the Courtyard by Baek Jin-hyeon; and The Diaries of an Eldest Daughter and a Youngest written by Ahn Eun-suk and Ahn Hyeong-suk

When I want to be ‘myself,’
When life feels like ‘poetry,’
When I ‘heal’ myself by expressing myself,
all those moments,
‘writing’ has always been there for me.

All their lives, these writers have lived a world apart from the publishing scene. What, then, drove them to pick up the pen, draw paintings, take pictures, and have them published?

The self-introductions from the authors, and the book themselves, provide clues to the reasons.

Danggeul Chulpan:
It is all about the smile!
A writer’s life is all about
feeling sad, crying, feeling pain,
and
finding that smile at last!

Danggeul Chulpan books are particularly valuable because they flow with genuine life experiences. In today’s world, the word “genuine” feels like a fossil. You have to be “genuine” to move others’ hearts. However, it is difficult to be genuine when you write something, because most people want to paint themselves in better ways. Obviously, this human nature applies to writing as well. That is why many writings feel exaggerated or nonsensical. In this regard, Seo Seung-rye’s Seo Seung-rye’s Writing Life reads like a genuine home-cooked meal. Seo reads poems and children’s stories for children at kindergartens and daycare centers. Her book is alive with children’s laughter, their courteous greetings, and an old woman who feels moved by those greetings. In the book, Seo writes about her life that takes her across various roles and activities as a storyteller, a lecturer teaching at welfare centers, a member of a children’s story club, and an autobiography writer. She writes, “I feel happy after I return home after a poetry reading.” She also tells herself, “The fact that I can do this at my age is the proof of my efforts. I have to live harder still.”
Where does this 74-year old woman get this energy from, you ask? Writing, without a doubt. Through writing, she records her own life, examining it, looking back on it, and finding joy in it. Writing leads her to new wisdom and drives her to make resolutions for the future. As such, writing has the power to make people grow and mature. To borrow from the book’s title, her “Writing Life” continues today, and she will say this to herself once again, “I have to live harder still.”

Books published by Danggeul Chulpan can be found across ACC Library Park. Visit the Library Park, read the books, and find out how writing gave the ten writers a life of smiles.

To borrow a phrase from Lee Ga-yeong’s book, if “you want to raise your self-esteem by expressing yourself, and use the self-esteem to live happier with your loved ones,” if that is the life that you want to see, if you find yourself asking ‘Should I, or can I, put my life into words or not?’ I will leave you with a verse written by Park Jeong-in, a poet selected for the first year of the Danggeul Chulpan program.

• Written by Choi Min-im samagg@hanmail.net
  Photography courtesy of ACC
  
  2022.2