Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Koreans publish book of experiences of living in Indonesia

Compiled from the original sources: The Jakarta Post and In-Shik Shon Calligraphy World Website

Shon In Shik, founder of the Indonesian Calligraphy Research Foundation, launched this week a compilation of stories detailing the experience of South Korean experiences living in Indonesia.

The 311-page book, "Everywhere We Live Is Our Home", chronicles the experiences of 53 South Koreans who lived in Indonesia for between 2 and 34 years.

“The book tells stories about adapting to the new ways of living here, about the ways we rear children in a completely new situation to us and the way we befriend to Indonesians,” Shon said through an interpreter.

He said the book was also aimed at introducing Koreans who are new to Indonesia to the local culture.

“There are going to be lots of misunderstandings if people don't really understand the culture, including the working habits of Indonesians. Many Koreans said Indonesians work slowly, but the fact is that Korean themselves work too fast...” he said.

There are around 30,000 Koreans living in Indonesia. Korean people are the second largest foreign community in Indonesia, after the Chinese.

In-sik Son was born in 1995. From 1992 to 2002, Son taught at colleges and universities including Kangwon University, Kyunghee University Graduate School, Sungkyunkwan University, Jeonju University Graduate School, and Hansung University. He also worked as the managing editor of "Karma", a monthly calligraphy specialty magazine, and served as a member of the planning committee for the World Calligraphy Biennale of Chonbuk,

He has published over 60 different dissertations and reviews on calligraphy and literary arts, along with academic theory books including "Searching for the Color of Ink' and "Principle of Creative Calligraphy" He has also published ninedifferent art books, self-teaching books, and poetry books. In addition, he collaborated on one book and co-edited another, as well.

His exhibition history includes two solo exhibitions, three solo invitational exhibitions, and group invitational exhibitions at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Modern art, Seoul Art Center, and Seoul Museum of Art. His international exhibitions include overseas invitational exhibitions and international artists exchange exhibitions in China, Japan, Germany and Indonesia. In total, he has participated in over 130 exhibitions, domestically and internationally.

Currently, he is pursuing his own art world, while teaching calligraphy in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is the CEO of "Seoyero, Inc and is running a calligraphy specialized portal website.