The Diplomat
Last Monday, the Centro Cultural Coreano made a solidarity delivery of Korean children’s literature to the Spanish Cruz Roja in the Valencian Community, with the purpose of delivering these books to family members on International Book Day, children affected by DANA in Valencia.
This solidarity action was joined by the headquarters of the Creative Content Agency of Korea in Spain (hereinafter KOCCA) with an additional donation, which will be distributed by Save the Children in the Valencian Community. This initiative not only seeks to support those who have suffered the consequences of the DANA floods, but also reflects a deep conviction about the power of literature as a source of comfort and companionship.
The two Korean institutions carefully selected six titles representative of the country’s children and youth literature. Among them are novels of the so-called “healing fiction”, such as Bienvenidos a la librería Hyunam-dong and sales hits like Almendra, whose protagonists go through processes of reunion with hope.
Also included were illustrated albums by the world-renowned author Baek Heena, winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the most important awards in children’s literature. Also, Una noche fuera, by Lee Ho Baek, one of the ten best illustrated albums selected by The New York Times in 2003 will reach the homes of Valencian families.
The donation ceremony, held at the Cruz Roja headquarters in Valencia, was attended by Juan José Collado, provincial president of the Cruz Roja in Valencia, who received the director of the Centro Cultural Coreano and expressed his gratitude for this gesture of solidarity.
On the same day, Rodrigo Hernández Primo, territorial director of Save the Children in the Valencian Community, highlighted the importance of solidarity in difficult times, thanking for the donation. Shin Jaekwang, director of the Centro Cultural Coreano, for his part, reiterated the commitment to the Valencia region, underlining the essential role of culture as a vehicle for resilience and emotional reconstruction.
For three consecutive years, the Centro Cultural Coreano, part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, has carried out various initiatives in solidarity to bring Korean culture to all corners of Spain. The director of this government institution stressed that this solidarity donation marks the beginning of the solidarity activities of this special year in which the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Spain is celebrated. Furthermore, it reaffirmed its commitment to continue promoting initiatives that strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.
For its part, the KOCCA in Spain, inaugurated last January with the purpose of boosting the international projection of the digital and contemporary content industry of Korea, participated for the first time in a social action together with the Centro Cultural Coreano.
