Opening of the Bogota International Book Fair in Colombia... Korea Invited as Guest of Honor

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The opening ceremony of the 2022 Bogota International Book Fair took place at 6 p.m. local time on the 19th at the Corferias Exhibition Center in Bogota, Colombia. As the second largest book fair in Latin America, the Bogota International Book Fair has been held since 1988 and attracts 600,000 visitors annually. This year's fair, running until the 2nd of next month, features 1,600 in-person events at a 51,000㎡ exhibition space and connects readers through booths from about 400 publishers and others.

The opening ceremony was held with the attendance of Colombian President Iv?n Duque. In his congratulatory speech, Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, said, “During the Korean War in 1950, Colombia was the only Latin American country to participate, a grateful brother,” and added, “Through Korea’s role as the guest of honor at the Bogota International Book Fair, we hope that writers and readers from both countries will communicate and exchange their thoughts.”

Novelist Eun Hee-kyung, delivering a congratulatory speech as a representative of writers, said, “Books show new perspectives for reading humans and the world beyond habitual frameworks,” and added, “In these times when pandemics, wars, and economic instability are sweeping the globe, it is necessary to learn the value of ‘coexistence’ from books.”

Korea, as the guest of honor, has set up the largest-ever guest country pavilion to meet local readers and publishers gathered from around the world. Under the theme ‘Coexistencia (Covivencia),’ exhibitions of Korean literary, non-fiction, and children’s book authors’ works are held, along with displays of the most beautiful books awarded in Korea from 2020 to 2021, traditional cultural experiences, traditional music, and K-pop dance performances.

Korean representative authors meet Latin American readers directly on site. Participating literary authors include Eun Hee-kyung, Jung Yoo-jung, Kim Kyung-wook, Jung Young-soo, Lee Moon-jae, and Han Kang (online); non-fiction authors include Kim Hong-jung (sociology), Kim Baek-young (historical sociology), Jung In-kyung (science), and Kang Ho-jung (ecology); picture book authors include Lee Su-ji, Kim Hyo-eun, Park Yeon-cheol, and Jung Jin-ho; webtoon artist Su Shin-ji; and children’s literature critics Kim Ji-eun and Kim Seo-jeong.

At the guest country pavilion opening ceremony, Yoon Cheol-ho, President of the Korea Publishers Association, Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Angelica Mayolo, Colombian Minister of Culture, and Claudia Lopez, Mayor of Bogota, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and held an event presenting an anthology of Korean literature translated into Spanish.

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