(Wonju Branch of The Korean Writers’ Association)

Wonju Writers’ Association was formed in 1957 when the tragedy of the Korean War(June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953) still gripped the nation. Poet, Park Il-song, established the Wonju’s first literary group, ‘Buk-won Literary Association’, with poets, novelists, and essayists. In the late 1950s to 1970s, some tens of small literary circles were active and they became the foundation of Wonju literature. The Buk-won Literary Association growed bigger with small literary groups integrated and was approved by The Korean Writers’ Association, which is one of the three large, representative writers associations of Korea, as the official body of writers association of Wonju City, Gangwon-do Province, in 1981. After this approval process, Wonju Branch of The Korean Writers’ Association was newly created.

Wonju Writers’ Association has committed to the promotion and development of Wonju literature for the past consecutive sixty three years. The Association has held numerous events and festivals related to literature for and with citizens. Such events include exhibitions of illustrated poems, special lectures of literature, national youth and citizens contests of essay and poem, writing contests, indoor and outdoor literary events and festivals. Wonju Writers’ Association issues a periodical every year and the year of 2018 marks its forty sixth year of printing ‘Wonju Literature’, a collection of novels, essays, and poems written by writers of Wonju registered as members.

Wonju Writers’ Association started publishing a new periodical in 2001, ‘Life Literature’. The Association has held ‘National Contest on Wonju Life Literature’, designed to have citizens from all across Korea write their own literary work and sumbit their entries, producing a total of thirty three new writers through this contest. The Association is very proud of this small but meaningful achievement because those who won National Contest on Wonju Life Literature are working as writers.

The Association also hosts an illustrated poems exhibition every year from October to November, with fifty works by members of The Korean Writers’ Association and another fifty works by Wonju Branch members, thus with a total of 100 illustrated poem works hanging tight on the wooden trails by the lake of Yonsei University Wonju Campus, so that citizens can appreciate the works, leisurely strolling along the wooden walking trails by the lake.

In 2001, Wonju Writers’ Association also began issuing a new periodical, ‘Chiak Literary World’, dedicating its pages every year to look closely at the literary world of a writer from Wonju.

Wonju Writers’ Association does not stop trying its part. For the past twenty six years, the Association has held ‘Chiak Mountain National Youth Writing Contest’, thus offering a valuable chance for young students from across Korea to start thinking about or have a dream about becoming a writer.

Wonju Writers’ Association also holds an exhibition of illustrated poems at a display room of Wonju Culture Foundation for three days in October every year. As part of this exhibition, copies of illustrated poems books and their postcards are printed and distributed to citizens to help them feel closer to literature.

Ninety five writers comprise of Wonju Writers’ Association whose structure breaks into five subcommittees; Novel Writing Subcommittee, Poetry Subcommittee, Traditional Three-verse Korean Poetry Subcommittee, Children’s Literatue Subcommittee, and Poem Recital Subcommittee.

Around twenty writers under the Association annually publish books of their own, promote the culture of reading, and help add a relish to the life of people. Experiences, veteran writers of the Association formed several small groups to offer voluntary services of literature to citizens and socially vulnerable class.