Culture ministry expands library arts club support to 300 branches

The culture ministry said Monday it will hold a sharing event for the library arts and culture clubs it supported this year at the National Library of Korea on Nov. 3, after expanding the program from 50 libraries to 300.

The event, titled "Libraries, Connected Through Art," opens at 1 p.m. in the library's international conference hall and is free to attend. Its exhibition brings together about 500 works made by club members, including calligraphy, pop-up books, hanji paper crafts, fabric art and sketches, alongside four performances staged by the clubs from 2 p.m.

Among the exhibitors, a club at the Jungwon Library in Seongnam will show picture books and original illustrations that reinterpret Korean documentary heritage such as Donguibogam and Muyedobotongji with artificial intelligence. The Chilgok Library's picture book research group, made up of mothers who completed a picture book instructor course, will pair natural essential oils and recycled paper crafts with its books. A club for members aged 60 and older at the Cheongcheon Library in Bupyeong will display calligraphy works in which they wrote about their lives, memories and emotions, while the Ulju Library's Geummukhoe will show ink paintings executed on ceramics rather than traditional paper.

The performance program includes a youth amateur ensemble at the Gangdong Central Library that combines picture book readings with classical music, a band of homemakers at the Ansan Central Library performing rock songs they composed, and a creative shadow play at the Hanam Wirye Library depicting neighbors resolving everyday conflicts, such as noise between floors, through communication and consideration. A storytelling club at the Mapo Central Library has turned its sessions reading to children into a staged reading.

"Libraries are moving beyond spaces that share books and knowledge to expand their role as living cultural spaces where residents learn together and create culture," said Chung Hyang-mi, head of the ministry's culture and arts policy office. "I hope this sharing event becomes a chance for club members to share what they have built and discover new possibilities."

Those who want to attend can register in advance by email or sign up on the day of the event.