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Banned Book Club
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
31 posts | 20 read | 27 to read
When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family’s restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined.
This was during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books. When the handsome young editor of the school newspaper invited her to his reading group, she expected to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Instead she found herself hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. And as Hyun Sook soon discovered, in a totalitarian regime, the delights of discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence as the walls close in.
In BANNED BOOK CLUB, Hyun Sook shares a dramatic true story of political division, fear-mongering, anti-intellectualism, the death of democratic institutions, and the relentless rebellion of reading.
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Maggie4483
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Making may way through this year‘s Oscar noms & found this documentary short in which kids are interviewed about how they‘ve been affected by their schools‘ book banning policies. Very moving, but take it with a grain of salt…the kids who were interviewed obviously had to have parental permission, and I think it‘s safe to assume that that wouldn‘t have been granted by parents who agree with these policies.
Still…worth a watch.

TieDyeDude The film makers were likely not looking to tell both sides (and I really don't care to continue to hear the lies of the other side), but I also think it would be easier to find kids who don't agree with book banning that haven't been influenced/coached by parents than kids who have independently decided that certain books should be restricted. 9mo
17 likes1 comment
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Kshakal
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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I love my local library‘s banned books table!! #fREADom

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Graciouswarriorprincess
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Books 138 and 139 of the year.

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OriginalCyn620
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

I meant to read this during #bannedbooksweek, but I‘m glad that I have read it! I enjoyed this GN about a literature student who gets to college in the early 80s and learns about what her government is keeping from its people. A good look into censorship, which of course is very relevant these days with the surge of book banning.

#bookspinbingo - free space

34 likes1 comment
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DMC_run8
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pro tip: when you go to donate books, just drop off the box and leave. Do NOT go to the other entrance just to "take a peek". It defeats the purpose of purging.

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Saknicole
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

Great read for Banned Books Week. This is my first Alaska Battle of the Books read for the year. It was quick with some major impact in the brief story. I also appreciated learning about the South Korean political struggles. I had no idea about any of the political violence and fascism so recently in their past. #Bannedbooksweek #alaskabatleofthebooks #battleofthebooks #graphicnovels #bannedbooks #teachersoflitsy

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Saknicole
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Excellent! I just picked it up tonight and love it. An Alaska HS Battle of the Books selection for the year. Also just in time for Banned Books week. I‘m reading F451 with my juniors and this book is getting me excited for my censorship lecture! #battleofthebooks #bannedbooks #Korea #GraphicNovel #teachersoflitsy

Kimberlone I want to read this! 2y
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Chrissyreadit
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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So glad Christine shared this info with me- I was wondering about a go fund me for this library. And love that Nora Roberts donated 50,000. Her bookstore in Boonsboro MD is small but fun- and about a half hour away. Link in case anyone wants to continue donating:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-patmos-library-for-2023

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Smrloomis
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

Loved this. Highly recommend it. Really glad I finally borrowed a copy.

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Smrloomis
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Her Dad gives her money for books 💕

Librariana This is on my TBR stack of items that just came home with me from the library! 🥰 Lovely to see these panels 2y
Smrloomis @Librariana Same here! Enjoying it so far!!! 2y
60 likes2 comments
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Sharpeipup
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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This topic came up with my librarians today.

📸 New York Times IG

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/books/book-ban-librarians.html

Karisa Grr… They need to leave books and librarians alone. Just when you think that it‘s all in the past! 2y
Sharpeipup @karisa I was shocked that people were holding the librarians personally responsible for it all. Most didn‘t know what they books were about though… 2y
MicheleinPhilly I read this article the other day. To say it infuriated me would be a MASSIVE understatement. 🤬 2y
35 likes3 comments
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IndoorDame
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Clwojick Great match! ❤️ 3y
46 likes1 comment
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IndoorDame
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

Very well done. A graphic biography - interviews distilled into a narrative about a fictionalized character to protect identities of those involved. In the story a literature student in her first year of university in South Korea 1983 is invited to what she thinks is a sanctioned school activity, but turns out to be a banned book club meeting. The things she reads and people she become friends with lead her to become a revolutionary.👇🏼

IndoorDame This was already on my library holds list, but it seemed especially fitting this week. #Nonfiction2022 #ImACriminal @Riveted_Reader_Melissa 3y
EvieBee This sounds great! A part of history I didn‘t know about. Researching now… 3y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa That sounds great!! 3y
61 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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IheartYA
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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jb72
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

As relevant today as it was over 30 years ago.

Another October #bookspin off the list to be replaced with a free spot.

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Nitpickyabouttrains
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

Graphic novel about a girl who goes to college and learns about what her government and world are keeping from her. Historical fiction but very relevant.

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Nebklvr
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

The intensity of the black and white illustrations paired with the simple but effective language made for a great overall experience.

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CoveredInRust
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

My subconscious in picking graphic novels really hit it outta the park for me. This one is a look into censorship and politics in South Korea in the 1980s. Friggin awesome!

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MisterWhitaker
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Lindy
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

The author‘s true story of her political activism in South Korea, in 1983 when she was a first-year university student. The well-drawn cast of characters tugged at my heartstrings & their fervour in the face of oppression is inspiring. The final chapter, set in 2016, shows all of them gathered to protest another corrupt government but also aware of the gains that their efforts realized over the years. Manhwa-influenced #comics format.

charl08 Sounds good. I wondered if this was the same protests as in 4y
Lindy @charl08 Perhaps. The author used a fictional university in this book for the privacy and safety of the people around her. The protests in Human Acts are in Gwangju. In The Banned Books Club, there‘s an information network between student activists at different universities, and a bit of the action happens at Gwangju. 4y
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Lindy
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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It‘s 1983 and university students are using a traditional performance to protest South Korea‘s military regime. “That‘s why these dances were invented, to protest ancient Confucian noblemen.”

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Lindy
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Hyun Sook: Did they take you in for questioning?
Yuni: That‘s what THEY called it.
Hyun Sook: Was it as violent as what happened to Hoon and Jihoo?
Yuni: When it comes to women, they inflict a different KIND of violence. The kind that doesn‘t heal. The kind you can‘t wear like a badge of honour. The kind I hope you never have to experience.

[The vulnerability of women in police custody … this passage made me so sad.]

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faelinwolf
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Hyun Sook loved reading before joining the Banned Book Club, but she reads all the time after. #charactersreading

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MisterWhitaker
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Never heard of Bookly, but thanks to y‘all I‘m trying it! Hopefully it helps me increase my reading frequency.

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MisterWhitaker
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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After reviving my blog I'm on a roll! Excited to did into this one! #comics #graphicnovels #tbr

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ReadingOver50
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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My reading wrap up for the month of December. I read a lot of good books this month. My favorites were Banned Book Club, Ghoul, and The Hunger. I‘m looking forward to a great new year of reading.

Butterfinger Hope you have a great year. 5y
79 likes1 comment
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ReadingOver50
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Pickpick

I started college in 1982, one year before Kim Hyun Sook. Our college experiences were very different. On the other side of the world, she was working with fellow students to change her country. The narrative was interesting and fast paced. I finished the book in a little over an hour. There is so much I never knew about the political situation in South Korea. This book opened my eyes to a world so different from my own. I highly recommend it.

merelybookish I recently read a Korean novel set around that time frame. First time learning about South Korea and its fight for a more democratic government. 5y
batsy This sounds really interesting! 5y
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MrsGreen
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Here I am with my most recent read! This will be published from Iron Circus Comics in Feb 2020!

MidnightBookGirl I read it and I liked it! 5y
LibrarianRyan I liked it too! 5y
21 likes2 comments
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Susannah
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Raise your hand if you wish it were Banned Books Month rather than #BannedBooksWeek. I usually forget until halfway through the week. 🤦‍♀️

(Image courtesy of ALA, 2017 Banned Books Week)

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LibrarianRyan
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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4.5 🌟
Overall I really enjoyed this story and learned quite a bit. There are parts that are a bit confusing, but I think that is from taking a long and varied history and converting it to graphic novel form. I think this book isn‘t only interesting to read, but to discuss. I think it should appear on banned book lists, even if it itself has not been banned. It opens up a wider discussion on why people and governments police what others read.

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MidnightBookGirl
Banned Book Club | Kim Hyun Sook
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Couldn't resist this eArc on Edelweiss! Set in 1983 South Korea, it's about the author's political awakening. It's both entertaining (her dad opens a steak restaurant and customers have no clue how to eat it) and educational (what I previously knew about South Korea was limited pretty much to the Seoul Olympics and my niece Kerry's obsession with BTS). Really enjoying it so far!

LibrarianRyan I just downloaded that today. 5y
60 likes5 stack adds1 comment