Signed Business Agreement with a Leading Domestic Publishing Company

Mokpo City, which will hold the Mokpo Literature Expo this October, signed an agreement with a domestic publisher to submit the winning works as books. Photo by Mokpo City Provided

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Mokpo City, Jeonnam, announced on the 14th that it held a publication agreement ceremony with Munhakgwa Jiseongsa Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Munji), a leading domestic publishing company, for the winning work of the Mokpo Literary Award's novel category.

According to the city, the agreement ceremony was attended by Kim Jongsik, Mayor of Mokpo, Lee Gwangho, CEO of Munhakgwa Jiseongsa, as well as Hwang Jiwoo, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Mokpo Literary Expo, Hwang Jeongsan, Executive Committee Chairman, and Chae Heeyoon, Chairman of the Mokpo Literary Award Operating Committee.

Through this agreement, the city and Munji plan to cooperate organically in the judging, publishing, and promotion of the Mokpo Literary Award's novel category.

Through this, the city aims to raise the awareness of the Mokpo Literary Award and enhance its brand value as a competitive literary prize.

The grand prize for the novel category of the Mokpo Literary Award contest, a representative program of the Literary Expo to be held in October, is 100 million KRW, the highest single-category amount among domestic literary awards. To publish the winning work, the city selected Munji as the preferred negotiation partner through the Mokpo Literary Award Operating Committee and has been conducting negotiations.

This year, the total prize money for the Mokpo Literary Award is 130 million KRW, including 100 million KRW for the novel category, and 10 million KRW each for poetry (including sijo), plays, and literary criticism. There are no restrictions on eligibility or content, and the submission period is from July 1 to 30.

Munji, a publisher that issues about 3,000 titles including the ‘Munji Poets Series,’ novels, literature, humanities, academic, and youth books, has a special connection with Mokpo. Literary critic Kim Hyun, a native of Mokpo, participated as a founding member, and played a leading role in collecting materials during the establishment of the Kim Hyun Exhibition Hall at the Mokpo Literature Museum in 2011.

Mayor Kim Jongsik stated, “Interest in this year’s Mokpo Literary Award contest, especially the novel category, is already high. Through collaboration with Munhakgwa Jiseongsa, we expect the growth potential and possibilities of the Mokpo Literary Award to expand, further enhancing its brand value.”

Meanwhile, the Mokpo Literary Expo, the nation’s first expo themed on literature, will be held from October 7 to 10 across Mokpo, including the Mokpo Literature Museum, the old downtown area, and Peace Square, under the slogan “Mokpo, from the Beginning of Modern Korean Literature to the Cradle of Future Literature.”

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