PART ONE: The Human Experience – Reflections from Seoul
- Stacie Ledden
- 21 hours ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 2 minutes ago
This is part one of three from my reflections on the NEXT Library Satellite Seoul conference.
Some experiences are a flash in the pan. They sizzle and then drift into foggy memories like steam. Some experiences are so rich, so wonderful that they simmer like a hot pot, growing richer as the days go by and the meanings reveal themselves. That’s how my recent experience at the NEXT Library Satellite Seoul conference feels – the memories, learnings, and friendships have only deepened in the weeks since we gathered.
Like most things in life, it was the people who made this experience so special. The vibrant, smart, intuitive, thoughtful, friendly staff from SeeArt Foundation and their partner C-Dot poured their hearts into this event – welcoming 119 attendees from 23 different countries. Watching their attention to detail, how they looked out for each other and greeted guests and speakers, their ability to pivot, and the joy by which they did their work was a sight to behold. An experience this seamless and skillful only comes with an immense amount of work.
Keynote speakers spent time with conference attendees throughout the dinners, site visits, and sessions, so that by the time they took the stage, their stories hit even deeper. And what incredible stories they have!
Being in Seoul with so many friends I love, our NEXT Library family transported to East Asia, was a true gift. It felt surreal. Pinch-me days followed by pinch-me days as we explored the city, learned together, ate together, and danced together. New friendships formed that transcended age, roles, geography, and language. Authentic connections that feel long-lasting and reiterate how much we have to learn from each other in this big old world.
The Gift of Being Present
As a society, we’ve lost touch with what it means to truly listen to each other. To be present, look people in the eye, listen intently without distraction, resist the urge to queue up that pithy thing we want to say next. This is an essential part of establishing trust, empathy, understanding, and meaningful connection in relationships of all types.
Embolden by Design was inspired by the desire to support library staff in developing programs that help grow skills like these, so I find myself talking a lot about active listening these days. To be honest, it’s not always my strong suit. English was the official language of the conference, but for many, it was a shared second or third language. Where barriers could have felt like brick walls, they often turned into green rolling hills we traversed together. Connecting through facial expressions, the light in our eyes, laughter, hand gestures, and translation apps required a different kind of attention, and the rewards for the patience and presence were so rich, so fruitful, and led to some of the most poignant conversations.
Filmmaker and storyteller Bora Lee-Kil had us in tears sharing the tenderness of her family, and both the challenges and beauty of growing up as a child of deaf adults (CODA). We were all captivated as she invited us into her world. When she shared that her wedding was held in sign language with Korean and Japanese interpreters, I thought about what we could learn from each other and about ourselves if we hosted library programs in sign language – or any language different from what the majority of participants normally speaks or hears.
Watch her award-winning film Glittering Hands, and stay tuned for her newest project currently in production, Our Bodies.
One of the most memorable dining experiences of my life was during the conference’s Tastes of Seoul event. Instead of gathering for a large dinner party, attendees broke out into assigned groups of 5-8, and traveled to different spots throughout Seoul. Our group went to a traditional North Korean restaurant for a delicious hot pot dinner. There were three people from Korea, two from Japan, one from Australia, and me from the U.S. I channeled my inner Priya Parker and asked questions around the table: What has inspired you most at the conference so far? Do you have siblings? What is your favorite food you’ve eaten tonight? While we were all a bit shy at first, the soju, smiles, and shared meal loosened our tongues as we shared our responses. I’m still daydreaming about the kimchi, dumplings, and cuttlefish among the clinking glasses and tinkling laughter.
Conversation Loop
Before the conference started, I attended a networking dinner with several of the conference speakers and Korean library leaders. Seated next to me was Young-Sook “Soy” Park, director of South Korea's Neutinamu Library, donning her Anythink and Neutinamu shirt and carrying a picture on her iPad from a Zoom call we sat in together with our combined staff in 2022. That year, the staff at Neutinamu had read about Anythink's switch from Dewey to a word-based system and reached out to Director of Products and Technology Logan Macdonald. This sparked an ongoing knowledge exchange and mutual appreciation between the two libraries. To finally meet there in Seoul felt like a dream.
Public-private partnerships are a major component of Korean infrastructure, from transportation systems to libraries. Soy describes Neutinamu Library as a privately-funded public library, with funds raised through the Neutinamu Library Foundation. The library’s philosophy empowers citizens to be fully engaged in its offerings to build a better world. They do this through initiatives like the Citizen’s Collection, curating conversations between people and the library's collection by posing thought-provoking questions and displaying materials that help answer them; Collection Busking, pairing library materials with community stories out where people engage in daily life. This interweaving of community stories, collections, library staff, spaces and community problem-solving is described as the Constellation of Library. There is a constant conversation happening between the community and the library staff, collections, and programming that is exciting. Sometimes simple, sometimes more complex, the conversation is always intentional, accessible, and fun.
NEXT Library Seoul attendees experienced this type of ongoing conversation firsthand with the beautifully designed “50 Fantasies of NEXT Library“ immersive installation created by the SeeArt Foundation team. People answered questions like “Librarian: Book expert or experience designer?” and “What is one thing that should NEVER change?”
The conference was filled with examples from both speakers and attendees of these constant cyclical conversations that reinforce community ownership and pride in their libraries through participation.
Amplifying Young Voices
When walking into For My Stories, one of the exceptional libraries run by the SeeArt Foundation, guests immediately understand this is a place where creativity reigns. A children’s library in the heart of Seoul, it’s a wonderland for child and teen exploration and self-discovery paired with smart, passionate staff and interns dedicated to supporting the children’s learning, creative, and emotional journeys. The multistory building included areas for building, painting, listening, writing, reading, designing, and so much more, along with all of the support tools and materials needed.
The thought and intention around the space was most impressive. Staff regularly observe and document how their young customers engage in the space, what’s working and what isn’t. They adjust accordingly. One of my favorite areas included screens labeled with different emotions – frustration, anxiety, sadness. Teens could then select the emotion they felt and find books behind the screens that address or represent that emotion. There was also an area where kids could write letters about how they were feeling and their peers could respond. This was just one of many opportunities for peer-to-peer connection supported in the space.
For My Stories – or “story studio,” as it’s described – is run by Kim Jeong-Min, a marketer who has dedicated her work and expertise to nurturing the stories of children. I love the library’s concept of “third time” versus “third space,” emphasizing that kids are customers and not passive recipients (they have choices about how they spend time outside of home and school), the description of library as verb and staff as “verb hunters,” and using “vibes” to define spaces over signage. There is so much trust, love, and respect for the children of all ages who enter that space. You could see it and feel it around every turn, and with every staff conversation.
Nobuo Yoshinari, former director of Gifu Media Cosmos, spoke of the library’s transformation in Gifu, Japan, in his keynote speech, “How the Library Became ‘Our Place’: Children’s Voices Are the Voices of the Future.” Its guiding philosophy of centering children’s voices and designing spaces and experiences for people resonated deeply. My notes app is filled with photos of Nobuo’s slides, each a shining example of simple yet impactful ways of engaging youth in library services. The library is described as a “roofed park that connects people and the town through books.” It reminded me of when former Library Journal editorial director Rebecca Miller visited Anythink, turned to Pam Sandlian Smith, and said, “I see now. You’ve turned the whole library into a children’s library!”
From the architectural details designed with children in mind to the adorable puppy cart filled with books taken to schools to inspire reading, and the YA bulletin board that connects middle and high school students to their local librarians through letters (with over 2,000 letters shared and counting!), each example from Gifu Media Cosmos felt like a celebration and investment in the community’s future – its children.
Reflections
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais Nin
I didn’t know what to expect from this trip. After it was over, I realized I had been hungry for it. For the kind of experience that made my brain and my heart feel they had grown three sizes. To be challenged in a way that was fresh, meaningful. Not unusual, but it felt good to never be the smartest person in the room. I was constantly learning from everyone around me – and from the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city itself.
With the current state of the world, and my continuous quest to understand my place in it, I’ve had this image in my head that was amplified this trip. It’s the triangle pose in yoga. One hand grounded in my local community, and one arm reaching up to the sky – my global community. Each of these speaks to the other. The flow, the continuous conversation – just like libraries and their communities – is essential for making sense of the world. To learn from others, to expand my world view, to get outside of myself. Lessons from one informing how I engage with the other. Providing balance as I put that active listening into practice.
Flying home from Seoul, I encountered 24+ hours of flight delays, including an unplanned night in Houston. It was miserable, but it’s also the kind of experience that exposes a different side of humanity. You bond with the people around you. I met a 22-year-old woman who had just graduated from college with a psychology degree because it’s what her dad wanted. To celebrate her graduation, she decided to travel to Korea solo, her first trip abroad. In the fall, she would follow her own dream and go back to school to be an astrophysicist.
Tired, sore, frustrated but finally exiting the plane in Dallas to catch my Denver connection, I saw a young Korean couple who had been part of this wretched multi-day journey. They were traveling with two young children, a baby and a toddler, and Grandma. The toddler shrieked if Mom wasn’t holding him, so she had both kids in her arms, while Dad and Grandma followed with the luggage. All I could think was, “Wow, what a bad ass.” I was surrounded by strong, tenacious women on this trip to the very end.
As I continue to process all the learnings, feelings, and friendships from this experience, I keep coming back to this thought: the human experience is a beautiful thing. Here’s to one hand on the ground and one hand in the sky.
NEXT Library Satellites are NEXT Library events outside of Aarhus, Denmark. Past events have taken place in Chicago (2014) and Berlin (2018). In May 2026, the NEXT Library Satellite was hosted in Seoul, South Korea, by SeeArt Foundation. Learn more at nextlibraryseoul.net.