‘The Scent of Autumn Literature’ Captured in Mokpo

From the 8th to 10th of next month at the Modern History and Culture Space

Night Walk poster held from the 8th to the 10th of next month at the Modern History and Culture Space area. Photo by Mokpo City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Mokpo City in Jeonnam announced on the 29th that it will hold the ‘Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour’ along with the ‘Mokpo Literature Expo’ in line with the autumn season, known as the season of abundant harvests.

The city will hold the ‘2021 Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour (夜行)’ from November 8 to 10 in the modern historical and cultural space area, as part of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s cultural heritage utilization project for the fourth consecutive year.

This year, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure a safe event, the night tour will be conducted in a hybrid format of in-person and non-face-to-face programs, with about 20 programs held in 8 separate spaces. Major performances and programs will be broadcast live on the Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour YouTube and Facebook channels, allowing anyone to watch and participate in events.

Performances and exhibitions will be held as in-person events throughout the modern historical and cultural street, decorated with lighting and lanterns to create a walkable night street.

This year’s night tour begins with the subtitle “Mokpo Modern Times,” aiming to reexamine meaningful history in modern literature through a creative musical adapted from Park Hwaseong’s novel “Sewer Construction,” which realistically depicts the labor movement and the lives of lower-class workers in the 1930s.

At the Modern History Museum Building 2, the opening performance will be held along with a fashion show expressing modern times through costumes, a traditional dance performance by the late dance master Lee Maebang of Mokpo, and a musical walk that conveys modern culture through music.

At the Seongok Memorial Hall and Gyeongdong Cathedral, daily events will include the Pansori performance “Meeting the Masters” by three Mokpo intangible cultural heritage holders, Korean era-specific song performances, a reading play by the “Modern Traveling Theater Company,” and “Serenade of the Autumn Night,” a combination of sinpa drama, dance, and song, soothing the hearts of citizens weary from COVID-19.

At the auditorium of the former Mokpo Public Sim Sang Elementary School, a demonstration and exhibition of jade craft with commentary by Master Jang Juwon, a national intangible cultural heritage holder, will be held. Vacant houses within the modern historical and cultural space will be transformed into exhibition halls showcasing photos and paintings of Mokpo from different eras.

Considering the COVID-19 situation, performances will be operated with limited audiences in separate spaces, and a resting area will be provided where visitors to the modern street can enjoy independent films and film music.

Additionally, non-face-to-face content such as stamp tours and cultural heritage golden bell quizzes, which children can safely enjoy at home, have been prepared.

A city official said, “We have prepared this as a sustainable event in the with-COVID era, focusing thoroughly on quarantine measures,” adding, “We hope it will be a time to regain the forgotten daily life while enjoying various programs both on-site and online.”

Meanwhile, the Mokpo Cultural Heritage Night Tour is a Cultural Heritage Administration public project designed to make cultural heritage easy and familiar to approach through nighttime viewing of cultural heritage in the city center and performances, exhibitions, and experience programs held in cultural heritage spaces. Mokpo City was selected for the 2022 project and will hold the event again next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.