Our university’s Main Library held the “Lire La Francophonie” exhibition in celebration of the school’s 113th anniversary at the Main Library’s World Women＇s Literature Center (1F) on May 28.

Francophonie is a term which refers to countries and regions that use French as the common language, cultural language, or everyday language. With the collaboration of each country’s embassy for this exhibition, the Main Library has prepared an event to introduce the culture, relevant literatures, folk arts, photos, etc. from Francophonie regions.

The exhibition was largely divided into the Francophonie book exhibition, Madagascar-Africa photo exhibition, and Sookmyung’s recommended 100 books exhibition. The Francophonie book exhibition centered on showcasing the history and culture of French-speaking countries, which included more than 300 articles of not only books, but also crafts such as masks used during traditional ceremonies and picture frames. The installation of a large panel briefly introducing the history and culture of each country also provided better understanding for the visitors.

At the accompanying Madagascar-Africa photo exhibition, the visitors were able to meet diverse photo works captured through the lens of Photographer Mi-sik Shin, who has been recording the joys and sorrows of life in remote areas and the African island country Madagascar for the past 10 years.

The Sookmyung’s recommended 100 books exhibition introduced 100 valuable works recommended by our university professors that can become the foundation for understanding literary knowledge, humanities, and the world. The Sookmyung’s recommended 100 books are also to be utilized for the “2019 Literary Empowerment Book Report Contest” that is jointly organized with Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS).

The opening of the exhibition held in the Shinhan Bank Hall’s 1st floor lobby of the library was attended by ambassadors from 8 Francophonie nations of France, Algeria, Tunisia, Rwanda, Belgium, Lebanon, Côte d＇ivoire, and Cambodia, as well as delegations of Senegal, Canada, etc.  Rwanda Ambassador to Korea Emma Isumbingabo gave the congratulatory message on this day. During her welcoming speech, President Jungai Kang emphasized, “Through the exchanges among the exchange students of Francophonie nations, our university students are developing into global talents by learning new cultures from diverse students, and the Francophonie students are also growing by learning Korean culture and traditions on our campuses.” She then expressed her wishes toward closer exchanges and the path to a virtuous circle.  

Withal, this exhibition has been prepared as a part of the “Library, Designing the Future Series” that has been continuing in celebration of the school’s 113th anniversary by the Main Library. The former UN Secretary General Ki-moon Ban and former Minister of Interior and Safety Bu-gyeom Kim had been invited as speakers for the series and gave their special lectures on global issues.

The Director of Main Library Si-yeon Moon said, “Our university has subscribed to the global network of French-speaking higher education institutions, Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie(AUF), for the first time among Korean universities in 2018 and has been expanding exchanges with the relevant countries,” and “We hope this exhibition can become an opportunity toward mutual benefits among diverse cultures and expansion of global perspective.”