Elderly Residents of Yongsan-gu Reading English Fairy Tales with Native Speaker Charlie

Yongsan-gu Hyochang-dong Small Library Operates 'English Storybook Reading Class with Native Speaker Charlie' Every Friday from June 3 to July 1, 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM

-

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The Small Library at Hyochang-dong Community Center in Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) is operating the ‘English Fairy Tale Reading Class with Native Speaker Charlie’ until July 1.

This is intended to help the small library, which has fully resumed operations after the lifting of social distancing measures, become a local cultural space.

The ‘English Fairy Tale Reading Class with Native Speaker Charlie’ is a beginner-level English reading course where about 10 middle-aged and older adults with limited opportunities to learn English read English fairy tales and have conversations with a neighboring native speaker.

The course consists of a total of 5 sessions, held every Friday from 3 PM for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Starting with the English fairy tale "Dumbo" on June 3, the second session was completed on the 10th, and the course continues until July 1. For the first four sessions, participants read English fairy tales and perform role plays based on the characters, and the fifth session concludes with creating fairy tale illustrations, drawing stories, and a simple English test.

The reading class covers seven Disney children’s fairy tales: ▲Dumbo ▲The Jungle Book ▲Lady And The Tramp ▲Winnie-the-Pooh ▲Finding Nemo ▲The Lion King ▲The Little Mermaid.

Charles Hapday, a native resident of Hyochang-dong, serves as the main instructor, and Kim Juhyun, head of the Hyochang-dong Small Library Volunteer Group, assists as the co-instructor. The course is free of charge.

The Hyochang-dong Small Library is currently open on weekdays from 1 PM to 5 PM. The volunteer group manages book lending, returns, and shelf organization on different days.

Yongsan-gu Mayor Seongjang Hyun said, “Even last year, when operating small libraries was difficult due to quarantine measures, we continuously created an environment conducive to reading by purchasing books, linking books, and establishing interlibrary loan services,” adding, “I hope the reading culture becomes a daily joy for the residents.”

As of 2022, there are 15 public small libraries in the area, with 386 reading seats and a collection of 113,258 books.

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