What does it mean to feel rooted in a place that isn't where you were born?

It is a question South African poet Manthipe Moila explores throughout "Rootbound," her debut poetry collection examining identity, belonging, migration and home.

On Aug. 15, those same ideas will extend beyond the pages of her book as three of Busan's independent creative organizations, Liquid Arts Network, Book'd Events and Dububiji come together for an afternoon and evening celebrating literature, conversation, music and visual art.

The day's events revolve around Moila's poetry.

Rather than separating the author from the work, Moila has spoken openly about how closely the collection reflects her own experiences.

"I drew directly from my experiences when writing, as I wanted to feel anchored in my writing," she said. "The Korean language is also something that I am grappling with. It's difficult ... but I love the language."

The afternoon begins at 3 p.m. with an intimate readers' gathering hosted by Book'd Events inside Dububiji's community space. More conversation than lecture, the event invites participants to engage directly with the themes of Moila's poetry while getting to know the author in a welcoming and informal environment.

In addition to gatherings built around reading, Book'd Events regularly organizes clothing swaps, wellness events, crafting sessions, book exchanges, artistic gatherings and other community-centered events hosted at local independent cafes and businesses throughout Busan. Through these gatherings, the organization has quickly become one of the city's newest spaces where meaningful connections grow through shared experiences.

Christine McGready, founder of Book'd Events, says the organization was created to help people build the kinds of relationships that can be difficult to find after moving abroad.

"When expats move abroad, we leave behind more than our friends, family and loved ones. We leave our community and support system behind, too. Speaking from personal experience, it can be really hard to make friends and build a community, especially in a foreign country," she said.

"I created Book'd with the intention of giving people a safe space to meet others and build a community, regardless of how long they'll be in Busan for."

McGready says partnerships like this one are an opportunity for Busan's creative communities to introduce one another's audiences to new experiences while strengthening the city's broader cultural network.

While "Rootbound" provides the focal point for the event, the broader significance lies in the partnership itself.

Liquid Arts Network has spent more than two decades creating opportunities for writers, musicians and visual artists to connect with one another. Through readings, exhibitions, performances and interdisciplinary collaborations, the organization has helped cultivate one of the city's longest-running creative networks.

"For the last 26 years, it has been an honor to serve the Busan community by sponsoring a variety of art events," said Kenneth May, founder of Liquid Arts Network. "It's statistically unlikely that I'll be around another 26 years, so it's great to see a younger generation of folks and organizations like Book'd Events and Dububiji stepping into the scene and carrying the torch of cultivating creativity and community forward."

Matthew Koshmrl, founder of Dububiji, is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, educator and community organizer based in Busan. Having previously built film communities in the United States, he founded Dububiji to strengthen Busan's independent arts scene by creating opportunities for collaboration, cultural exchange and sustainable creative careers.

His reasons for creating the space were rooted in Busan itself.

"I moved from Seoul to open Dububiji because I've always believed that some of the most interesting art comes from places like Busan, not just a country's cultural capital. Local storytelling across film, performance, music, literature and the visual arts is essential to a healthy creative ecosystem. I saw how heavily concentrated Korea's media and arts industries have become around Seoul, and I wanted to build Dububiji as one small piece of the solution," Koshmrl said.

"Just as importantly, Dububiji exists to foster real human connection. We want to create a place where people can put their phones away, experience art together and engage face to face. In a world increasingly shaped by isolating technologies like social media and (artificial intelligence), we believe shared cultural experiences and human creativity are more valuable than ever."

Koshmrl says collaborations like this one reflect exactly what the organization hopes to encourage.

"This is exactly the kind of collaboration Dububiji was created for," he said. "We want people to experience different art forms together, discover new voices and build creative collaborations that lead to lasting projects. By bringing artists and audiences together, we hope to create a community that can collectively support creative careers in Busan."

Together, these three organizations demonstrate an encouraging trend within Busan's independent arts community. Rather than operating in isolation, they increasingly support one another, creating an ecosystem where audiences, artists and ideas naturally overlap.

Following the afternoon gathering, the celebration continues with Liquid Arts' open evening event starting at 6:30 p.m.

The program expands beyond literature into an improvised conversation between music and visual art. Visiting artist Kathleen Hurley-Liao will create an original painting live while Busan-based trumpet player Gordon Bazsali Jr. provides improvised musical accompaniment.

Hurley-Liao is no stranger to Busan's creative community. This marks her second residency in the city, reflecting the international artistic exchanges fostered by Naughty Muse Studios, another organization that has played an important role in supporting Busan's independent arts ecosystem through artist residencies and collaborative programming.

The title "Rootbound" carries meaning well beyond its botanical origins. For Moila, "roots" are not simply where someone comes from, but a way of understanding identity, belonging and what it means to feel at home.

"One's 'roots' are also seen as the true, eternal home. To be alienated from your roots is necessarily to have an identity crisis of existential proportions. In a more globalized landscape where cultures shift constantly, I wondered if there was room to complicate this narrative. What does it mean now, in the digital age, and in the age of mass migration, to feel at home? To have roots?"

For Moila, writing the collection became its own journey of self-discovery.

"The journey of writing 'Rootbound' was like a journey to myself ... I used literature as a medium to say what I needed to say."

In many ways, those questions resonate beyond the pages of the book itself.

For many members of Busan's international community, finding home has always been about more than finding a place to live. It has meant finding people, conversations and creative spaces where belonging can take root.

Spencer Waters is the co-founder of OurBusan.life, an English-language platform dedicated to connecting Busan's international community through local events, businesses, organizations and resources. Originally from the United States, he has called Busan home since 2018.