"Nice to see you, book~"... The Seoul International Book Fair Returns Grandly After 3 Years

On the morning of the 1st, visitors are lining up to participate in an event at a booth during the '2022 Seoul International Book Fair' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Korea's largest book festival, the "28th Seoul International Book Fair," was held as a large-scale face-to-face event for the first time in three years.

On the opening day, the 1st, over 100 people lined up from the morning at COEX A Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. For the past two years, the book fair was not properly held due to the impact of COVID-19, but it welcomed visitors again on a large scale after three years. In 2020, it was held online, and last year it was significantly downsized and held in Seongsu-dong.

An official from the Korea Publishers Association, the event organizer, said, "Before COVID-19, the number of advance ticket reservations was about 12,000, but this year, 20,000 tickets were sold in advance alone." The number of visitors on that day was estimated to be about 25,000.

Key government officials also visited the venue to celebrate the long-awaited face-to-face event. About 100 people, including Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Yoon Cheol-ho, President of the Korea Publishers Association, attended the opening ceremony held at 11:30 a.m. There was speculation that President Yoon Seok-yeol might attend, but he did not.

On the morning of the 1st, Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, delivered a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the '2022 Seoul International Book Fair' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In his congratulatory speech, Minister Park said, "First-class advanced countries are completed by the power of culture, and books exist as the foundation of culture," adding, "Books are the excellent competitiveness of K-Culture. Korean writers have gained international reputation, and several books have won global literary awards."

This year's book fair is held for five days until the 5th of this month under the theme "One Small Step." The ambassadors are novelists Kim Young-ha and Eun Hee-kyung, and Colson Whitehead, an African American author who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice. A total of 195 companies from 15 countries participated. A total of 214 authors and speakers, including 167 domestic and 47 from 12 overseas countries, participate, conducting 306 programs such as lectures and dialogues.

The guest of honor this year is Colombia, which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea, making it the first Latin American country to participate in the book fair. About 30 Colombian writers, including Miguel Rocha and Santiago Gamboa, present book talks, book exhibitions, and cultural performances both online and offline.

On the 2nd, picture book author Lee Su-ji will hold "One Half Step Closer to You with Pictures," on the 3rd, novelist Eun Hee-kyung will present "Reading People through Literature," on the 4th, novelist Han Kang will give "A Meeting Without Farewell," and on the 5th, singer and author Jang Ki-ha will hold a book talk about his first book "Isn't It None of My Business?"

Additionally, there will be lectures by Herv? Le Tellier, author of the French Goncourt Prize-winning work "Anomaly," dialogues with J?rgen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, and Frida Edman, director of the Gothenburg Book Fair.

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