Arts Council Korea said it has begun recruiting writers for the second half of its Arko Literary Residency program.
Launched in 2014 as a corporate-sponsored arts initiative at the Hotel Prince Seoul, the residency program has since expanded through partnerships signed in 2025 with Hyeopseong Marina G7 in Busan and Hotel Jeonggwanru on Nami Island in Gangwon Province.
For the second half of this year, the program will select a total of 14 writers: six each in Seoul and Busan, and two on Nami Island. Residencies will run for four to six weeks in July and August at the Hotel Prince Seoul, four weeks between July and December at Hyeopseong Marina G7, and two weeks in September at Hotel Jeonggwanru. Each program provides writers with private rooms and fully covered meals.
The Hotel Prince Seoul residency, which supports emerging fiction writers within 10 years of their debut, has hosted 129 writers to date, including Chang Kang-myoung ("Because I Hate Korea"), Sung Hae-na ("Honomo") and International Booker-nominated Park Sang-young ("Love in the Big City").
Hotel Jeonggwanru on Nami Island, an official sponsor of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, has positioned itself as a children’s literature-focused residency. It supported Austrian author Heinz Janisch, the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award winner, in the first half of the year and plans to continue prioritizing children’s literature writers.
Applications are open through May 11 at 3 p.m. via the Arko website.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
