Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su Receives Special Award for 'Publisher of the Year'

Published 08 Dec.2021 13:39(KST)

Recognition for Contributions to Building Reading Culture Content and Special Library Infrastructure

Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su Receives Special Award for 'Publisher of the Year'

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] On the 8th, Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su received the ‘Publisher of the Year’ special award for his contributions to the promotion of reading culture and publishing culture at the ‘Night of Publishers’ awards ceremony hosted by the Korea Publishers Association held at the Amanti Hotel in Seoul.

The Korea Publishers Association is a corporation under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established for the development of publishing culture and industry. Since 2001, it has selected individuals who have contributed to the improvement of reading and publishing culture as the Publisher of the Year, awarding main prizes, merit awards, category awards, and special awards to enhance the cultural significance of books and uphold their dignity.

Mayor Kim was recognized for various achievements, including making Jeonju a library-centered city and a desirable book travel destination, as well as building unique reading culture content and special library infrastructure, leading to his selection as the special award recipient for Publisher of the Year.

Since 2017, Mayor Kim has annually held the ‘Jeonju Reading Festival,’ Jeonju’s representative book festival, operating diverse reading programs with citizens such as author lectures, performances, exhibitions, academic discussions, and reading experiences. This year, he also launched the reading campaign ‘Reading 100 Classics Together,’ which involves reading 100 classical books over five years.

To spread reading culture and support the stable management of local bookstores, he introduced ‘Jeonju Book Love Points Bookkung20,’ and also launched the ‘Library Travel’ program, a travel program where participants tour specialized libraries around Jeonju by bus.

Furthermore, he has worked on infrastructure development by creating various specialized libraries, including the Book Pillar Library in the city hall lobby turned into an open library, Haksan Forest Poetry Library, First Greeting Road Traveler’s Library, Palbok Art Factory Ipamnamu Picture Book Library, and Jeonju Volunteer Center Volunteer Library.

Notably, ‘Ujuro 1216,’ a space exclusively for the twin generation (ages 12-16) within the Jeonju City Library ‘Kkotsim,’ received the Presidential Award at the ‘2020 Korea Spatial Culture Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Institute of Architects last year, drawing attention as a new public library model.

Jeonju Mayor Kim Seung-su said, “A library should not simply be a place to read books but a central space in citizens’ lives. Through libraries and books, we will strive to transform lives and make life become books again, advancing Jeonju into a city loved not only by citizens but also travelers as a humanities tourism city through library travel.”