Digital magazine shares stories of Songdo's blossoming, nascent community

The cover of Songdo Stories issue 1 / Courtesy of Songdo Stories

By Jon Dunbar

Residents of Songdo have come together to create Songdo Stories, an online magazine sharing creative works inspired by Songdo.

Issue 1, published at the start of June, is available online as a PDF, with possible plans to make print versions in the future.

It features 14 contributions, including personal memoirs, poetry, photography and art, submitted by Songdonians ― a term one of the editors has coined to describe Songdo residents ― young and old, Korean and residents of foreign nationality. They come from across Korea, as well as from distant countries including India, the U.S. and Nigeria.

"Through personal stories, we can connect with each other much better," Chantal Faures, one of the editors of Songdo Stories, told The Korea Times. "Whatever the differences, we can be a community of individuals instead of distinct groups ― 'expats,' 'Koreans,' 'internationals,' etc."

The magazine's editorial board consists of three resident of foreign nationality and three of Korean nationality, with backgrounds in creative writing, English teaching, translation, editing and publishing.

Interestingly, none of the editors or contributors consider Songdo their hometown, as the city is newly built on reclaimed land, and the magazine mentions when each one became a Songdonian. The earliest arrived in 2010.

"Songdo Stories being about expressing how we feel about living in Songdo, we wanted to create a common anchor point," Faures, a Belgian national who has been a Songdonian since 2015, said, explaining why each contributor's date of arrival was mentioned. "We all have different past lives, experiences, stories and perceptions, but we are connected to each other by the fact that we all live in Songdo ― or have lived here."

She points to "Birds of Songdo," a collection of five photos showing birds taken around the island city, submitted by Vivian Lu, who moved to Songdo from Hong Kong two and a half years ago.

"Grey Heron" photographed in Songdo area by a conservationist from Hong Kong / Courtesy of Vivian Lu

"I love Vivian Lu's photos because I still remember that when I arrived here in 2015, I noticed the absence of birds and insects," Faures said. "It has changed a lot over these past few years, and the sound of birds today creates a… hopeful and optimistic feeling."

Lee Nahye, a Songdonian for 10 years who is in the third grade of middle school at Chadwick International, wrote a soulful piece inspired by growing up in Songdo and her complicated feelings of nostalgia, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You gain a new habit, starting to record the breeze, warm with the trees, just so you can remember," she writes. "When you look through your phone to revisit those times, you find that those videos are gone. You exhale, feel the breath you've been holding dissipate into the air, and you've just lost something."

Liam Lihalakha, a sixth-grader at Chadwick International School who has been in Songdo since October 2019, contributed three haikus about Songdo, while his brother Luke, a second-grader, contributed a charming watercolor painting of the whale statue in Haedoji Park. And Alison, their mother who's also a writer, contributed six photos showing the young city in bloom during the two springs she's experienced while living there.

"The Whale at Haedoji Park" watercolor by a second grader at Chadwick International / Courtesy of Luke Lihalakha

Dayung Jenn, who moved to Songdo in 2019, contributed a three-line sijo, a traditional Korean style of poetry.

Park Chung-il (Chris) contributed a photo essay, titled "Future City," that reflects the nuances of Songdo's unrelenting urbanization.

The magazine is personal and warm throughout, capturing signs of humanity and nature amid Songdo's skyscrapers. It has the feel of a time capsule, capturing this era of Songdo's early development, and will likely grow in value over the coming years, as the city grows.

"Night View" overlooking Songdo Central Park, shot by a Celltrion employee / Courtesy of Park Chung-il (Chris)

Faures herself came here about six years ago with her husband, who works at the Green Climate Fund, as well as their teenage son, who attended Chadwick International until graduating in 2017.

Regarding her initial impression of Songdo, she said, "It felt like I had landed in the middle on a foreign movie stage ― not making sense of the plot or anything else around me. It was overwhelming and not pleasant till I finally made some friends within the community. Though these social interactions, I started weaving a better understanding of the life around me."

She recalls an important turning point that occurred in February 2018, when a dog she had been fostering ran away. But the community came together on social media, and someone reported to her that the dog had been spotted trotting out of Songdo on the main bridge. "For the first time, I felt I was part of a community with many supportive people," she said.

The story about the dog's escape and miraculous return was made into a short illustrated story book, titled "Lucky Smiley," which was published bilingually in English and Korean. Copies are available for 5,000 won at Comma Bookstore in Songdo's IBS Tower, or by contacting songdostories@gmail.com.

The cover of "Lucky Smiley" by Chantal Faures / Courtesy of Catchy Songdo

Faures also created the fundraising platform, Catchy, which enables people to use their professional skills to contribute to a cause of their choice. She also co-founded an arts and crafts market as a Catchy project, to help make life better for this newly forming community living on Songdo.

"My life here in Songdo is a very creative and exciting one," she said.

"It feels very strange to live in a place that (as a tract of reclaimed land) has no history nor collective past memories. There is room therefore for our stories to fill this void and build a common ground. So it is more an opportunity than an obstacle, and it seems contributors have understood that the sum total of these individual stories will make a piece of Songdo's history."

Issue 2 is anticipated for autumn. Visit songdostories.com for more information and to read issue 1.