1. Miracle of the 100th issue of ‘Sotdae Literature’

On December 7, 1990, total seven promoters including novelists Kang Dongseok, Kang Jongpil, and Kim Jaechan, children’s poetry writer Seo Jeongseul, poets Kim Okjin and Kim Hongyeol, and broadcasting writer Bang Guihee founded the Korea Disabled Writers Association, and then published the first issue of the first literary magazine for the disabled ‘Sotdae Literature’ in April of next year. Without any special plan for operation, they unconditionally started it as they urgently needed to have a magazine for publishing the works by disabled writers who loved to write.

The disabled writers were the only supporters for ‘Sotdae Literature’ as there were no paid subscribers. Such indifference was led to financial problems. In the hardship like that, however, the people who recognized the value of ‘Sotdae Literature’ started appearing one after another, and then added some energy to continue ‘Sotdae Literature’.

In 2011, it became the ‘magazine with excellent content’ selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, expanded the scale to about 1,000 members, and also produced around 450 competent writers with disabilities.

The history of ‘Sotdae Literature’ for 25 years has built a new genre called literature of the disabled in Korea, and also achieved the miracle of the 100th issue of ‘Sotdae Literature’ as a brand of literature of the disabled. After getting caught in a trap of black list for the culture & arts world in 2015, it was excluded from the excellent magazine support program. Even though it was discontinued after the last 100th issue as it lost the support for printing cost, the 100th issue of ‘Sotdae Literature’ accomplished the achievement of solidifying the Korean literature of the disabled.

In February 2016, the library of Stanford University in the United States wanted to purchase 100 issues(1st issue-100th issue) of ‘Sotdae Literature’, and 100 issues of ‘Sotdae Literature’ were
immediately sent to the United States. The reason why Stanford University started having interest in ‘Sotdae Literature’ was to research it by keeping it in the library as it was an unprecedented
literary magazine for the disabled in the whole world. Thus, ‘Sotdae Literature’ is expected to be globally recognized one day in the future. 

2. Foundation of ‘Sotdae Review’

The discontinuance of ‘Sotdae Literature’ was a great blow to disabled writers.

Unfortunately, many disabled writers stopped writing as ‘There were no places for publishing their writings any more’.

And in the autumn of 2017 within two years, the half-annual ‘Sotdae Review’ that evaluated the value of literature of the disabled was newly founded.

The basic contents of ‘Sotdae Review’ include the corner of Sotdae Literature for publishing new works by disabled writers, review for re-evaluating the 25 years of ‘Sotdae Review’, and publication of essays related to literature of the disabled.

Publisher Bang Guihee is asking the literary world or intellectuals for paying attention to ‘Sotdae Review’ to form active discourses on literature of the disabled, by saying “‘Sotdae Review’ would show that literature of the disabled is not lower culture, but a confession of human ontology as unique experiential literature.”

‘Sotdae Review’ is published by saving the production cost of a disability arts magazine ‘Emiji’, so only two issues can be published in a year.

It took over 25 years to publish the 100th issue of ‘Sotdae Review’ while it would take 50 years to publish the 100th issue of ‘Sotdae Review’.

Even though it still has a long way to go, it is carefully taking each step not to repeat the same pain of discontinuance.

The only way for ‘Sotdae Review’ to survive is that the worlds of literature/criticism and academia recognize the value of literature of the disabled.