On 23 November, Bucheon, a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, hosted the 2022 Diaspora Literary Award Ceremony to celebrate diaspora literature, together with representatives from five fellow Creative Cities of Literature.  

The Ceremony rewarded the New York-based author Min Jin Lee for her novel “Pachinko” before the Mayor of Bucheon, the Chairperson of the City Council and the Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. The book, which relates the story of a Korean family, depicts the challenges faced by displaced people upon arrival in a new country and the dramatic consequences of being uprooted from their previous lives. The event celebrated the collective dedication of displaced people to preserving and nurturing connections with their homeland while also contributing to the cultural diversity of a city. Indeed, diaspora literature addresses the hardship of displacement and the ways in which cultural exchanges can foster tolerance and harmony rather than discrimination.

On 24 November, a dedicated Creative Cities Workshop was also organized. Cultural exchanges were a central focus of the workshop bringing together Bucheon and other representatives from the five Creative Cities of Literature of Wonju, Iowa City, Ljubljana, Melbourne and Nottingham, along with officials from the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, consultants and representatives from various organisations. The workshop, which consisted of a series of presentations and discussions, offered a comprehensive platform to share testimonies, good practices and challenges and to discuss practical ways to leverage the Network to promote a culture-driven sustainable urban development.