Sogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, Holds Publication Ceremony for Novel 'Gangsu Walked'

Publication Celebration Held at Songpa Community Center at 3 PM on the 16th

Seo Gang-seok, the poet and mayor of Songpa District, will hold a publication commemorative event for his novel Gangsu Walked on the 16th.

Gangsu Walked is a 375-page epic novel written by Mayor Seo Gang-seok, weaving together the stories of his parents and himself.

Gangsu Walked vividly and engagingly narrates, across time and space, the story of Seo Gang-seok’s parents, Jeonghwan and Sukhwa, who lived a difficult life described in the novel as “burning wet straw,” due to conflicts with the times, and the story of Gangsu and his wife Gyeonga, who were born into a poor family but lived a fulfilling life rising to become a public official and eventually an elected district mayor.

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, praised in his review that “Anyone who opens the first page will not be able to stop reading until the end,” and said, “The novel Gangsu Walked is our story.”

Minister Yoo stated, “The story of Gangsu’s father Jeonghwan is the story of our country suffering from poverty, and the story of Gangsu, who lived a life of challenge and achievement, is the story of today’s Republic of Korea,” adding, “Mayor Seo Gang-seok wrote an excellent novel with solid story development, described with the sensitivity and literary quality he cultivated in the university drama club.”

Seo Gang-seok, mayor of Songpa District, is a published poet who won the 3rd Korean Arts Writers Award in 2013 from Open Poetry. After passing the 25th Administrative Examination, he served as a first-grade public official for 33 years, holding positions such as Blue House administrator, Seoul’s New York representative, director of Seoul Human Resources Development Institute, and deputy mayor. He holds a doctorate in public administration.

He was re-elected as the mayor of Songpa District in the 8th nationwide simultaneous local elections held on June 1 last year, winning the highest number of votes among basic local government heads nationwide, currently serving his 8th term as an elected mayor.

His publications include poetry collections Neatly Combing Hair and Tying a Tie (2017), Conditions of Talent (2010), and Seo Gang-seok’s New York Report (2001).

Seogangseok, Mayor of Songpa District

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