- 2024 Seoul International Writers’ Festival to be Held at the JCC Art Center from September 6 to 11

- Talks, Discussions, and Reader Events Under the Theme of “Particles and Waves”

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (President CHON Soo Young, LTI Korea) will co-host the 2024 Seoul International Writers Festival (SIWF) at the JCC Art Center in Jongno, Seoul from September 6 to 11. Since 2006, the SIWF has served as a key platform for writers around the world to connect with their readers.

Exploring the nature of humanity and life through contradictory narratives

The theme of this year’s festival, “Particles and Waves”, reflects literature’s value in re-examining relationships of things in our lives that once appeared contradictory and opposing and embracing their coexistence, just as the wave-particle duality of light, which was inexplicable in traditional physics, is now accepted in modern quantum mechanics.

The festival will kick off on September 6 with keynote speeches by CHUNG Bora (author of Cursed Bunny) and Claudia Pineiro (author of Elena Knows). Throughout the festival, a series of one-on-one talks will be held under the themes of Repeat, Record, Imprint (by LEE Ki Ho and Zülfü Livaneli) and Loving Until Death (by LEE Hee Joo and Usami Rin). In addition, there will be discussion sessions on topics such as The Temperature of Humor (by KIM Ki Tae, JUNH Young Su, Fredrik Backman), Silence and Commotion (by KIM Keun, Sjón, HWANG Yu Won), and The World of Dark Nights (by SON Bo Mi, LEE Jang Wook, Kevin Chen). These sessions are expected to highlight how stories, either narrated in the authors’ works or drawn from their own experiences, can capture the true nature of humanity and life in contradictory speeches, actions, and choices.

Cross-genre experiments, engaging performances and exhibitions, and interactive programs

In addition to these sessions, this year’s festival will feature performances, exhibitions, and interactive programs that will invite the audience’s participation, including a classical music performance by cellist HONG Jin Ho and pianist CHOI Moon Seok as well as media art installations that visually interpret the authors’ works, displayed at the JCC Art Center Exhibition Hall throughout the festival.

The audience can also enjoy a wide range of cross-genre programs. On September 8, SON Bo Mi will lead a reading session accompanied by musical actor KIM Sung Hyun and participating readers. On September 9, poet HWANG Yu Won and singer Irang will perform songs they composed based on HWANG’s poems.

All festival programs are free to attend with pre-booking on the official website (www.siwf.or.kr).