Virtual Korean poetry workshop set
2026-06-25 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
A day-long virtual workshop on Korean traditional poetry, targeted to teachers of poetry and literature, will be held by the Sejong Cultural Society on Thursday, June 25.
Entitled Virtual Sijo Workshop: Verses from Korea, China, and Japan, registration for the free workshop (required) will be open until June 20. Upon registration, participants will receive a pre-reading list and a Zoom link. Registration is limited.
Participants will engage in an in-depth exploration of sijo and other East Asian poetic forms through expert-led sessions and scholarly discussions. They will learn how to write sijo in English and how to teach it effectively as a classroom topic.
All participants must attend the full session, complete homework, and complete a program evaluation to receive a complimentary copy of the reference book, Sijo: Korea’s Poetry Form. A U.S. postal address is needed to be eligible for this offer.
All educators (K-12, employed in U.S. schools) who attend all the sessions, complete the homework, and submit a program evaluation will receive seven hours of professional development credit, a reference book, and a $100 stipend.
Registration and a program schedule for the day is available at this link.
The Sejong Cultural Society is a non-profit organization in Chicago dedicated to promoting and educating teachers, students and the general public about Korean literature and music. General questions can be sent to the email: Se*******************@***il.com

Sejong Cultural Society free virtual book club series
2026-07-23 19:00 - 20:00
The Sejong Book Club is a Zoom-based free series designed for the average adult reader to learn more about Korean literature in translation.
The upcoming meeting will be a discussion of Un-Su Kim’s novel The Plotters (translated by Sora Kim-Russell) to be held Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m. (Central). The novel describes a dystopian Seoul where asassination guilds compete for dominance. Kim blends descriptions of the workings of a criminal underworld with dark comedy and psychology in a persuasive alternative reality.
Each session in the series will include guided reading notes and discussion points. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link and discussion outline. Registration is at this link.
The Sejong Book Club invites readers from around the world to explore Korean literature in English translation. Led by distinguished professors of literature, the online discussions offer a welcoming space to connect through reading, reflection, and cultural exchange.
Each session highlights a major Korean work translated into English, examining its themes, historical background, and artistic vision. Discussions are held several times a year, and all sessions are conducted in English.
The book club is one offering of the Sejong Cultural Society, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that offers annual music and sijo (Korean poetry) competitions for adults and youth, along with other cultural events. Its programs are targeted to a wide audience and designed to teach Korean music, literature and culture through fun and interactive events, workshops and performances.
Future Sejong Book Club meeting dates and titles:
Thursday, September 24 The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Thursday, November 19 Hello Baby by Eui-Kyung Kim
More information on the Sejong Cultural Society is available at the link.

Minneapolis rally to stop U.S. military presence in South Korea
2026-08-15 13:00 - 15:00 | Mayday Plaza, 301 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, United States
A U.S. Out of Korea rally will be held Saturday, August 15, 1 p.m., at Mayday Plaza in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis rally will be one of five happening nationwide that day.
The demonstration is hosted by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) in response to a call to action by Nodutdol, a New York-based Korean American activist organization. The nationwide response is in commemoration of the Korean Liberation Day (the 1945 end of 35-year occupation of Korea by Japan, known as Gwangbokjeol, or “the day the light came back” in Korean). Four other local peace activist groups are joint sponsors of the Minneapolis demonstration.
The Minneapolis rally is one of five U.S. Out of Korea rallies to be held nationwide on that day: In Times Square, New York City; in the Bay Area at the San Francisco Federal Building; in Los Angeles at Wilshire and Western; and in Seattle at the Fischer Pavilion.
The U.S. military presence in South Korea began a few years after the 1945 Liberation Day, and continues today, with approximately 28,000 U.S. military still deployed at U.S. bases in Korea. U.S. military exercises harm civilians’ health and threaten lives frequently. Recently, an alleged white phosphorus leak by the U.S. military at Osan Air Base forced residents to evacuate their homes. In Pocheon, at least eight civilians were injured in March 2025, when fighter jets dropped live bombs, hitting a residential area.
Thousands will march in Korea in commemoration of this date, and to call for an end to the U.S. military presence there.
More information is available at the Nodutdol website at: https://usoutofkorea.org/ Local information on the Minneapolis demonstration is available at the MPAC Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbOH3Q8RuvU/

Call for submissions for sijo poetry contest
2026-08-29 - 2026-09-29
The Sejong Cultural Society has announced a call for submissions to its annual Korean traditional poetry (sijo) contest. The contest is open to all poets, regardless of age or nationality, and the submission deadline is September 30. Contestants compete for cash prizes.
A sijo is a traditional three-line Korean poetic form with a specific structure and syllabic pattern. Contestants may submit one original sijo (English only) on a topic of their choice, via the online submission page. The entry cannot have been previously published.
The Sejong Cultural Society celebrates the arts, particularly Korean literature and poetry in translation, and Korean and Western classical music.
One of its missions is to teach and raise awareness of Korean poetry, and there are many resources on the website to teach Korean poetry forms, including sample sijos and instructional videos on the organization’s Youtube channel.
First prize in the contest is $500; runner-up prize is $250 and honorable mention is $100.
More information, competition rules and submission guidelines are at this link. For questions, please email to: Se*******************@***il.com

Free virtual book club explores Korean fiction in translation
2026-09-24 19:00 - 20:00
The Sejong Book Club is a Zoom-based free series designed for the average adult reader to learn more about Korean literature in translation.
The upcoming meeting will be a discussion of Han Kang’s novel The Vegetarian, to be held Thursday, September 24, 7 p.m. (Central).
Originally published in 2007, The Vegetarian was translated by British translator Deborah Smith in 2015, and then received international acclaim. It won the Man Booker Prize for Literature in 2016. Author Han Kang was conferred the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2024.
The three-part novel tells the story of a young woman, Yeong-hye, who lives in modern day Seoul. After a nightmare about the depths of human cruelty, she decides to stop eating meat, which causes devastating consequences in her personal and professional life. The novel is allegorical, and represents womens’ quest for autonomy, psychologically and bodily, and what happens when those on the margins challenge the power structures of society.
Each session in the series will include guided reading notes and discussion points. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link and discussion outline. Registration is at this link.
The Sejong Book Club invites readers from around the world to explore Korean literature in English translation. Led by distinguished professors of literature, the online discussions offer a welcoming space to connect through reading, reflection, and cultural exchange.
Each session highlights a major Korean work translated into English, examining its themes, historical background, and artistic vision. Discussions are held several times a year, and all sessions are conducted in English.
The book club is one offering of the Sejong Cultural Society, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that offers annual music and sijo (Korean poetry) competitions for adults and youth, along with other cultural events. Its programs are targeted to a wide audience and designed to teach Korean music, literature and culture through fun and interactive events, workshops and performances.
Future Sejong Book Club meeting dates and titles:
Thursday, November 19 Hello Baby by Eui-Kyung Kim
More information on the Sejong Cultural Society is available at the link.
