On Monday, September 29th, author Ed Park delivered a lecture at the Nott Memorial, marking the beginning of Asia Week at Union College, running throughout the week of the 29th. Park’s lecture was also the second Professor Donald R. Thurston Annual Memorial Lecture, founded to honor the late professor who founded Union’s Asian Studies Program.
Ed Park’s lecture walked the audience through his journey as a writer: from working as an editor at “The Village Voice,” to authoring his novel, “Same Bed Different Dreams,” which was started in 2014 and published in November 2023, to recently having his debut story collection, “An Oral History of Atlantis,” published this past July.
In addition to delivering insight into his writing process and journey, Park also discussed Hallyu, the global increase in Korean culture’s popularity, highlighting one such recent example of the phenomenon in Netflix’s recent hit film, “KPop Demon Hunters.” Besides being a blockbuster movie with all of its songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100, Park claimed that upon closer examination, the film contains elements of the cultural memory of the Korean War and the split between North Korea and South Korea along the 38th Parallel. He also discussed the relation between the themes of the movie and the experiences of the Korean diaspora, including the director Maggie Kang and himself.
Park then discussed how he himself tackled the subject of a divided Korea and the experiences of the Korean diaspora in his novel, “Same Bed Different Dreams.” He delved into the process of incorporating uncommon pieces of Korean history, such as the Korean Provisional Government, into his work, drawing parallels with how both the North and South are parts of the same bed, but possess different dreams for their futures. Park also talked about how his personal experiences as both a writer and a Korean-American shaped how he wrote the characters for that novel.
Park’s talk delivered an exciting insight into “KPop Demon Hunters,” offering a unique angle that delved into both the cultural and the historical aspects of Korea, and connected those memories to his own in writing. He shared an inspiring tale of his journey as an author, shedding light on his writing process and giving glimpses of future works. Ed Park’s lecture at the Nott kick-started Asia Week at Union in an exciting fashion, sparking interest on campus for the events that are yet to come.
