Adults said that the girl’s family will move to Yangpyeong-eup tomorrow.

- From <Sonagi> written by Hwang Sun-won -

Though Mr. Hwang Sun-won was born in North Korea, it was because of this line that Sonagi Village was established in Yangpyeong. There had been opinions to set up a literary house in Yangpyeong, which was the setting of the novel, <Sonagi>, meaning “showers.” In 2003, Yangpyeong-gun Office and Kyung Hee University formed a sisterhood partnership in pursuit of its establishment. Finally, on June 13, 2009, <Sonagi Village>, a literary theme park created based on Mr. Hwang’s work, opened. Hwang Sun-won Literary House is a three-story building that resembles the shape of a pile of sorghum that appears in the novel.

In Exhibit 1, Mr. Hwang’s used belongings, initially published writings, awards, and medals were on display, and his writing room has been reproduced in its entirety. It is known that Mr. Hwang performed corrections according to his own spelling system and word spacing until the draft became printed, and various handwritten drafts that he had revised numerous times are exhibited. Here, you may see where and how these works of literature widely loved by the public were born. In Exhibit 2, his other representative works such as “Stars,” “The Descendants of Cain,” “Dog of Crossover Village,” and “Trees stand on Slope” can be found in an advanced facility. Exhibit 3, the Nampotbul Theater, has reproduced an old classroom where the boy and the girl studied in <Sonagi>, and an animated version of the novel as well as a newly dramatized story that follows the ending of the book is played. At a literary café called Matari Flower Room, Mr. Hwang’s works are presented in various ways such as audio book, e-book, and large-sized drafts for you to write a story on your own. I recommend you to sit on a chair by a window from which Sonagi Plaza is seen and have a time immersed in literature.

If you have checked out the literary house completely, take a walk on the trail. A stroll path is established in Sonagi Village starting from the grave of Mr. Hwang, and the name of this trail has also been taken from his famous novels. “Sorghum Path” where the boy and the girl met for the first time in <Sonagi>; “Forest of Hometown” with the theme of <The Descendants of Cain>; and “Forest of Crane”, a place where childhood friendship is reminisced and conflicts are resolved in a short story titled “Crane” as well as Path of Confession, Path of You and Me, Calf Field and Wild Flower Village are all places that remind of Mr. Hwang’s literary works. Many different types of wild flowers such as balloon flowers and Matari flowers often picked by the boy and the girl in <Sonagi> are in full bloom, and a stream and stepping stones that they walked over also greet the visitors.

The biggest event at Sonagi Village is Hwang Sun-Won Literary Festival, which is held for three days of a weekend near September 14th every year, the day on which Mr. Hwang passed away. A variety of events take place, including a memorial ceremony, Sonagi Village Literary Awards, youth writing and drawing contest, literary lectures, cyber writing contest awards ceremony, Hwang Sun-won digital camera poem contest awards ceremony, and an ensemble performance of harmonica and saxophone.

At the Rainbow Fountain in Sonagil Village, showers occur once in every two hours. When it happens, do not be surprised and simply run towards a hut or a pile of sorghum to avoid rain just like the boy and the girl in the novel.

At Sonagi Village, anyone can be characters of a story (however, artificial showers occur only from April to October).

Written and photos by Kim Sun-joo

TIP.

On every Saturday, a story narration performance is held with the theme of Hwang Sun-won’s <Sonagi>, which can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age. The performances are held twice a day at 1:20 PM and 2:20 PM from March to November. Please visit the website for details.

Website https://www.yp21.go.kr/museumhub/

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