Han River Nobel Literature Reading Craze... 6,000 Attend Gyeonggi Dadokdadok Festival

More than 6,000 people were recorded to have attended the '2024 Gyeonggi Dadokdadok Festival' held on the 12th at Anseong Matchum Land.

With the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to the author Han Kang sparking a reading craze across South Korea, more than 6,000 people were counted at the ‘2024 Gyeonggi Dadok Dadok Festival’ held on the 12th at Anseong Matchum Land.

Author Kim Young-ha, who attended the event for a lecture, emphasized the importance of reading, saying, "Through reading, you can experience other worlds, as well as gain the ability to understand others and reflect on yourself."

At the lawn plaza, various reading experience activities were held, including ▲outdoor book picnics where visitors freely enjoyed reading ▲a reading MBTI experience booth that analyzes personal tendencies and recommends books ▲children’s book talks, and on the outdoor stage, diverse programs such as ▲busking ▲bubble shows ▲reading quizzes were prepared.

Gyeonggi Province set up a special corner to celebrate author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature with residents visiting the event, exhibiting works such as ‘The Boy is Coming’ and ‘Love in Yeosu’.

Park Myung-hee, who runs a bookstore in Anseong for three generations, said, "I was delighted that more people than expected came to the event," adding, "It was great to introduce good books to residents through operating a booth at the venue."

Kang Hyun-seok, Director of the Future Lifelong Education Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, urged, "At a time when interest in reading is at an all-time high, I hope everyone enjoys the various reading festivals held in Gyeonggi Province and rediscovers the value of reading."

Earlier, on the 10th, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon posted a congratulatory message on his social media for author Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win, and on the 11th, he released a video of his response during the Gyeonggi Provincial Council’s policy inquiry held in June.

When asked about the recommendation to discard the student library copy of Han Kang’s work ‘The Vegetarian,’ Governor Kim said, "I was very surprised to learn that such a book is restricted from being read (in Gyeonggi Province)," but added, "I think the awareness of social customs and systems raised in ‘The Vegetarian’ is very sound."

Meanwhile, a satisfaction survey of participants in the ‘Gyeonggi Dadok Dadok Festival’ showed a 98.5% willingness to participate again. In particular, satisfaction was high for the outdoor book picnic, MBTI, and reading quizzes.

Gyeonggi Province will hold various reading culture campaigns, including the ‘2024 Yangju Book Festival’ at Yangju Gwana-joo in Yangju City on the 20th, and the ‘24th Bucheon Book Festival’ at the lawn plaza of Bucheon City Hall from the 26th to 27th.

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