Jeonju Reading Festival to Switch Entirely to Online Event

Operation Reduced to 35 Programs

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Tae-in] Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do, has decided to hold the representative book festival, Jeonju Reading Festival, as an online-only event that can be enjoyed anytime and anywhere due to the resurgence of COVID-19.

On the 31st, the city announced that the ‘2020 Jeonju Reading Festival,’ originally planned to be held both online and offline from the 18th to the 20th of next month for three days, will be minimized in terms of event programs and conducted entirely online.

Initially, the city planned to proceed with a hybrid event combining online and offline formats while thoroughly preparing safety measures considering the COVID-19 situation, but due to the resurgence of COVID-19, it was decided to proceed with an online-only event.

To this end, the city reduced the existing 121 programs to 35, about a quarter of the original number, and instead of holding opening and closing ceremonies, book markets, and experience booths, the event will be broadcast online with only a small number of staff and related personnel attending.

Additionally, the city plans to conduct Jeonju-specific content unique to the Jeonju Reading Festival, such as lectures, performances, academic discussions, and SNS events, through YouTube and Naver TV, focusing on family-oriented programs that can increase online participation.

Real-time lecture programs include Professor Choi Jae-cheon as the starting speaker, followed by ▲the writer couple Park Yeon-jun and Jang Seok-ju’s ‘Reading Life, Writing Life’ ▲writer Namgung In’s ‘Quite Peaceful Days’ ▲writer Park Sang-young’s ‘Prescriptions for You Who Always Fall Asleep with an Empty Heart’ ▲writer Jang Hye-ryeong’s ‘The Book of Life, Life as a Book’ ▲Jeonju’s Books of the Year by writers Jang Eun-young, Kang Yang-gu, and Jang Ryu-jin ▲a meeting with 2019 Honbul Literary Award winner writer Seo Cheol-won ▲‘Reading Jeonju’ (lectures by Jeong Jin-wook, Jang Myung-soo, and Lee Jae-woon) ▲and a special lecture by Ryu Hee-ok, president of the Jeonbuk Writers’ Association, totaling 13 programs.

Performances include ▲Hanji puppet play ‘One Hundred Fans’ ▲Youth Busking ▲Imagine Magic Show ▲Jeonju’s Book of the Year ‘Reading Performance’ ▲Sand Art from Fairy Tales ▲Assa! Jeonju, a performance poetry recital concert, all conducted as recorded broadcasts.

At the same time, online experience programs that the whole family can enjoy are prepared, including ▲Family Reading Golden Bell ▲Children’s Post-Reading Activity Contest (drawing and book reports) ▲Family Experience Kits ▲Jeonju Reading Festival 3·6·9 Quiz Time.

Along with this, the city will also conduct the ‘Jeonju Reading Festival Dadok Dadok SNS Event’ to continuously promote this year’s reading festival through readers’ blogs, Instagram, and Facebook.

Specifically, participants can receive small prizes through a lottery by joining events such as ▲‘Try to imitate the person in the poster!’ ▲‘Your chosen famous sentence from a book’ ▲Jeonju Reading Festival pre-promotion event ▲online comment and certification photo events.

The city is currently accepting online participants in advance through the official Jeonju Reading Festival website, and those who register in advance will receive detailed guidance including participation methods and link connections. For more information, inquiries can be made to the Book Reading City Team at Deokjin Library.

Choi Hyun-chang, Director of Planning and Coordination Bureau, said, “Since this is the first time the Jeonju Reading Festival is held online due to the impact of COVID-19, we will prepare focusing on more substantial content,” and added, “We will do our best to make it a Jeonju Reading Festival where people can heal and enjoy books anywhere.”

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