Loving literature together with Book.ing in Gangnam

“Sometimes, when you read a book, something inside you accelerates. It changes your thoughts and emotions -- you have a feeling of excitement,” Udo Lee told the small group in the Seoul art space, holding up a copy of Kodwo Eshun’s “More Brilliant Than the Sun.”

The German-Korean was preaching to the choir. Assembled here were the seven literature-loving participants in Platoon Kunsthalle’s second experimental Book.ing event -- a forum “for chilling out, talking over a book with a specific topic.”

Kunsthalle staff member Kim Hae-min decided to start hosting the informal events after enjoying some fascinating evenings where conversation with friends turned naturally to books.

“We had such an interesting time talking about books, we thought we should do it more often,” she said.

Wanting to expand the group discussion, she introduced the concept at the Apgujeong venue -- asking participants to pick a book relating to a monthly theme and bring it along for friendly discussion.

August’s discussions -- the second in the series -- centered on escape: “both physical and mental runaway from reality to a dreamland or from a dreamland to reality,” the event flier explained, asking for a maximum of 30 participants to pay 15,000 won for entry, a drink and one of the art hall’s German dishes.

“Some books have a huge impact on a person,” Lee continued, introducing Eshun’s celebration and analysis of electronic music, subtitled “Adventures in Sonic Fiction.”

“When you think about music you have to break free of language. You need a new way of thinking about it -- when you find that it can be a form of escape.”

Another participant saw a more concrete form of escape in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

“I think the book shows a struggle to escape from harsh reality,” the first-time attendee said of the story about young boys stranded without adults after a plane they were taking to escape a war crashed on an island.

“The boys escape from harsh reality but their new reality also turns into harsh reality.”

Attendee Jung-mo Park had a psychological take on the theme, telling how Brenda Shoshanna’s “Nine Ways to get Rid of Fears” helped him understand, and in a sense escape from, his own mindset: “The book recommends changing your perspective on something that you fear. Maybe through this book we can escape some of our fears,” the designer said.

He listed a string of things that made him uncomfortable from the dark to girls that are taller than him.

“A few years ago I was afraid of bugs so I just wanted to try them to eat,” the product designer said, telling how he used his profession to explore his fear further.

“I wanted to explore and explain the emotion so I am developing different styles of bugs.”

Some of his bug creations reflected and reacted to light, he explained, while others had paints inside them and moved to create their own designs.

While his attempts were entertaining, Park jokingly confessed that he was yet to truly escape his fears: “I still cannot stay in a small room without any light, and I am still not comfortable around girls that are much bigger than me.”

Others strayed from the theme in order to introduce favorite books. Kwon Oh-yun admitted his choice of Pierre Bernard’s “My work is not my work” had “not much to do with escape” but talked about his experiences of working for the prominent French graphic designer.

The next event on Sept. 24 -- will be on the theme of “September Issue” reflecting the busy period for the publishing industry following the vacation season.

“I expect bring more publishing professionals related to independent book market,” explained Kim “This could be an interesting theme for them, but casual also.”

For more information go to www.kunsthalle.com.



By Kirsty Taylor (kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)