Celebrating Its Third Anniversary, Jeonju Reading Festival Held Both Online and Offline

From September 18 to 20 at the National Intangible Heritage Center area

Photo by Jeonju City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jae-hee] Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, a city of readers, is celebrating the third anniversary of the Jeonju Reading Festival with a variety of events.

On the 27th, the city announced that the "2020 Jeonju Reading Festival" will be held both online and offline for three days from September 18 to 20 at the National Intangible Heritage Center.

The Jeonju Reading Festival will carry out lectures, performances, exhibitions, book markets, reading experiences, and citizen contests under the theme "Dadok Dadok, We Will Listen to You" to heal the hearts of citizens exhausted by COVID-19.

Considering the COVID-19 situation, the city plans to proceed with a hybrid event combining online and offline formats, thoroughly preparing safety measures.

The offline events, which previously attracted many citizens, will be limited to a small number of participants through a full reservation system. Lectures and performances will operate at about one-third of the seating capacity, and reading experiences and book markets will be held with around five people per session, maintaining a distance of more than 1 meter.

Additionally, the opening and closing ceremonies, some lectures and performances, and academic discussions will be broadcast on YouTube and Naver TV so that citizens who cannot attend in person can participate online.

This year's "2020 Jeonju Reading Festival" also includes new programs such as ▲Dadok Dadok, Book Curation ▲One Book Prescribed by the Book Pharmacist ▲Reading Jeonju for You ▲Jeonju Book of the Year Reading Performance.

"Dadok Dadok, Book Curation" introduces books that provide answers to citizens' questions about life and living, while "One Book Prescribed by the Book Pharmacist" offers one-on-one consultations with author Jeong Ji-hye to prescribe a book that perfectly fits the individual's concerns.

In "Reading Jeonju for You," authors such as Choi Jae-cheon, Jang Seok-ju, Park Yeon-jun, Namgung In, Park Sang-young, Jang Hye-ryeong, Jang Ryu-jin, Kang Yang-gu, and Jang Eun-young participate as instructors to share stories about Jeonju's history, food, and films on-site.

Moreover, through the "Reading Performance" prepared by the Jeonju Municipal Theater Company, citizens will have a chance to experience pride and community spirit.

In connection with the Jeonju Reading Festival, the city is also conducting ▲Jeonju Book of the Year My Own Book Cover Contest ▲Booktuber Contest ▲Jeonju Book of the Year Book Report Contest ▲Reading Us, Reading Photo Contest ▲Local Neighborhood Bookstore Stamp Tour.

Choi Hyun-chang, Director of Planning and Coordination, said, "We hope this will be a time to find wise answers and give hope to citizens tired from COVID-19 through books," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare so that citizens can safely and enjoyably participate both online and offline."

Meanwhile, all programs and progress of the 2020 Jeonju Reading Festival can be checked on the official website, and for more details, inquiries can be made to the Book Reading City Team at Deokjin Library, Jeonju City.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.