RAS literature club bridges cultures by turning pages
Jeremy Seligson holds a stack of books before a meeting of the Korean Literature Club at Trevari Anguk cafe in the North Terrace Building in central Seoul, May 15. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
The dissolution last December of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea shocked its members, as well as the Korean studies community and many others who thought it would be around forever.
In the months after it was dissolved, the torch was still being carried by some satellite groups, including the Youth Dialogue Program and the Korean Literature Club, both of which continued meeting on a monthly basis.
The Korean Literature Club was founded as a special interest group of RAS Korea in the winter of 2011-12, during Brother Anthony of Taizé's first term as RAS Korea president, and with the initiative of scholar Robert Fouser.
Over the years, several different members have stepped up to lead the group. Since last August, it has been led by Jeremy Seligson, a long-term foreign resident of Korea, with assistance from scholar Peter Juhl.
"The RAS Korean Literature Club may be the longest-lived public group of its kind in Korea," Juhl told The Korea Times, citing its openness and its focus on Korean literature translated to English.
Under Seligson's guidance, the group has shifted from classics and short stories toward recently published, full-length novels by Korean authors. In May, they read "We Do Not Part" by Nobel Laureate Han Kang, which focuses on the Jeju April 3 Uprising and Massacre of 1948.
Seligson, a native of Washington, D.C., graduated from Indiana University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree. He volunteered his services as a lawyer for the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 1970 to 1972, working as the only law school graduate in the Ministry of Land Reform and Administration.
He first visited Korea in 1975, originally intending to secure a visa for Japan. He had been studying Japanese and writing poetry under the guidance of Cid Corman, a well-known American poet who had lived in Japan for 30 years. During his Japanese language studies, Jeremy met a Korean woman who introduced him, via letter, to her friend in Korea.
In 1977, he traveled to Korea again, and met the friend at the airport who arranged for him to stay at a Buddhist temple. Three months later, on a snowy day, he married her at that very temple.
“The temple didn’t even charge us for the wedding — that was free,” he recalled.
After getting married, Seligson settled in Korea and met a fellow former Peace Corps volunteer who was teaching at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. The man was retiring, and Seligson was offered his position in the English Education Department. He accepted, launching a teaching career that lasted 18 years at the university.
He later taught at Wonkwang Digital University in the Yoga and Meditation Department, then at Yonsei University’s Underwood International College, where he taught courses in the Department of Literature and Culture.
Seligson has been an RAS Korea member for nearly 30 years. He has given lectures, contributed to the RAS journal Transactions and led various cultural excursions, including the RAS' annual Buddha’s Birthday temple tours.
Jeremy Seligson guides a Royal Asiatic Society Korea tour at a Buddhist temple in Seoul, May 14, 2016. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
One of those RAS excursions was on a ship with shaman Kim Kum-hwa, who conducted a ceremony in the West Sea “for safe sailing and big catches,” on behalf of coastal fishing villages. In 2002, as a tour member, he visited North Korea's Mount Geumgang. “While others were soaking in hot springs, I walked through mountains to the Nine Dragons Pool. There, a North Korean soldier warned me it was getting dark,” he recalled.
As part of the Korean Literature Club, he selects a new book each month, which is announced at least one month in advance.
Each meeting of the Korean Literature Club typically attracts about 15-25 attendees, almost equally divided between Koreans and foreign nationals. Participants have included former ambassadors, government officials, professors, radio producers, retirees and college students, all bringing diverse perspectives to lively literary discussions.
Newcomers, first-timers and guests are always welcome, so long as they've read the book. "Some book clubs are 'closed access,'" Juhl said. "This isn’t one of them."
Members of the RAS Korean Literature Club discuss Han Kang's "We Do Not Part" at Trevari Anguk cafe in the North Terrace Building in central Seoul, May 15. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
“I’ve spent most of my life teaching college students, but working with adults, people of all ages and life experiences, has been a new joy,” Seligson said.
Young Y. Hwang, an English and French translator as well as a lecturer, has been a familiar face at the Korean Literature Club for over a decade. He is the chairman of the Consultative Committee for K-Culture and Literature Promotion and Global Exchange at the Korean Society of Translators.
“I’m always thrilled to enjoy myself in discussion and debate. It’s wonderful,” he said.
“I’m kind of an amateur, but I study languages such as English and French, and I never stop learning," he said. "In addition, this club helped me to come across many good friends, such as professors, teachers and foreign nationals from different sectors of this society.”
Denise Seno, a Puerto Rican environmental scientist who has been involved in the club for almost a year, emphasized its mix of local and international members.
"So far, most books have been about Korean culture, Korean authors or writers connected to Korea," she said. "My interest in the culture brought me here. I came because of literature, but literature always brings me to culture. For instance, there was one book I read that I couldn’t fully grasp at first. But during the discussion, someone, Jeremy, brought up another book mentioned in it that related to mythology. That discussion helped everything click. Now, when I visit palaces or temples, I understand more.”
Marshall Park, a student member currently studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, said that attending this kind of discussion brings out the value of literature. He likes being able to come together and discuss both the literary merits of a book and how much the readers actually enjoy the book itself.
Marshall Park, middle, participates in a meeting of the Korean Literature Club at Trevari Anguk cafe in the North Terrace Building in central Seoul, May 15. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
“It equally imparts the cultural aspects of the book and how well they hold up to our ever-so-improving standards, but also how we react to the book itself, how we enjoy it, how it impacts us," he said.
"I think the topic of the book we discussed today, regarding the history of Korea in the middle of the 20th century, has been censored for a very long time. For it to come out like this, especially on the coattails of the author's winning of the Nobel Prize for literature, is a very crucial moment.”
On June 12, the Korean Literature Club will meet to discuss Anton Hur's translation of "Red Sword" by Bora Chung. There is no entry fee, and all are welcome.
Visit the Korean Literature Club Facebook page, the group's page on GoodReads at tinyurl.com/RASKLC or raskb.com/clubs-and-groups
for more information.
Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He's also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative and freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.