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In this series, conducted in partnership with the Melbourne City of Literature Office, we discover some of the bookstores of the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. In the last installment, we meet the Tudeukgol Bookstore, nestled in the mountains outside of Wonju, South Korea.
On a winding road in Wonju, South Korea, there is a building nestled in the mountains. Here you’ll find the Tudeukgol Bookstore, one of the city’s most iconic independent bookstores.
‘Teodeuk is a Chinese character meaning “enlightenment”, or “something of a spiritual awakening”, and Hello is also a Chinese character meaning ‘valley’ where two mountains meet but are sunk and collapsed, ”says Drake Yang of the UNESCO Literature City of Wonju. “That word from Teodeuk-gol hits Koreans something like this, ‘Aha, this is the place where we can come out of our ignorance, stupidity or illiteracy and enter into enlightenment or enlightenment. “
The location is idyllic. Wonju is a city of approximately 350,000 inhabitants and is located approximately 90 kilometers from the capital Seoul. Tudeukgol Bookstore is at least a 30-minute drive from downtown Wonju and is located on a hill near Chiaksan National Park and Baegunsan Natural Recreation Forest. “Ever since I was a young man in my twenties, I dreamed of living in the depths of the mountains, and following that dream, I came to settle here in Tudeukgol,” explains the owner of the Namuseon store.
“I opened the Tudeukgol bookstore five years ago after running a publishing house for 35 years,” he continues. “After publishing some 300 books as a publisher, I have come to want very much to live in the world described in these books. 27 years ago, I moved from Seoul to Wonju in Gangwon Province and lived for 10 years in an apartment in a rural area. Then for 17 years, I built a house and a bookstore in the mountains and settled there, engaging in the traditional cultural industry, books and bookstore, with as main areas: meditation, autonomy, and how to make handmade products. ‘
The bookstore is only one aspect of Tudeukgol. Namuseon, who lives on site, explains that there is also a bakery, a forest for meditation, and an open-air performance hall where music recitals, author events and book-based performances take place. . For those who wish to spend a little more time, there is a new guesthouse, allowing visitors to stay overnight.
The store has gradually made a reputation in various fields. It’s not just the location and purpose of its stock, but the space itself. Outside there are views of the surrounding mountains. Inside, the architecture and the furnishings themselves are a calling card. ‘Modernist carpenter Bahk Jong-sun, who built the bookstore building 12 years ago and designed the furniture, was in charge of the furniture for the film. Parasite, which won four Oscars in 2020, ”says Namuseon. “So many people flock to the Tudeukgol bookstore to view the furniture. Our bookstore has become a museum-like place where one can see the growth of a local furniture designer, who overnight gained worldwide fame.
Every part of the space comes down to the key philosophy of living in harmony with nature and living a fulfilling life. This is reflected in the books that are available and the activities that are offered to visitors. Namuseon runs the Tudeukgol Life Design School, which offers courses that are mainly held in Tudeukgol.
The books they focus on in the store are mostly “picture books and books on how to lead a natural lifestyle,” he explains. “Other areas are books for adults which are part of the different categories of Tudeukgol Life Design School, for the courses taught mainly here at Tudeukgol. The main categories are meditation, carpentry and house plans, health and natural remedies, cooking and baking, literature and travel, occupations and work, and books on the local area of Teodeukgol… We focus on being a unique curation that can only be achieved here. The Teodeukgol bookstore has thus become an essential bookstore for Koreans who dream of a turning point in their life and of living in nature. ‘
One of the favorite items of the Namuseon store is the “Before I Die” painting. He explains that this is “where visitors to the Tudeukgol bookstore share their dreams with other people. Visitors think briefly about death, write down what they hold most dear in life on bookstore-designed notepaper, choose a thing or two from their list, rewrite them on a post-it and share with the others by attaching the notes to the board. Wishes and dreams should be written in the present tense. This is because a thought is a seed, and to wish and dream is to plant that seed as a complete being. ‘
Namuseon has many plans for the future, but one of the most important “is to turn Tudeukgol Life Design School into a school of books”. “I wish the Tudeukgol Bookstore would be a little guide in this unprecedented time when almost everyone faces a turning point in their life due to the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.”
Regarding the series of books he planned, “Superficially, it would look like a library. The aim is to create an open platform school that helps each individual develop their commitment to work and their career. It is an open school where you can freely define your career path outside the framework established as the norm by existing schools or religions, and implement them with force. ‘
Key words: The bookstores of the Cité des Lits
Category: Features
