Gwangmyeong City Confirms Three '2026 Book of the Year' Selections... Launches Reading Community Campaign

Announcement Ceremony Held at Sohado Library
Pledge to Foster a Reading Culture Together with Over 70 Citizens

Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province has selected three books as the '2026 Book of the Year' to be read together with citizens, and is launching a full-scale reading campaign.

At the '2026 Book of the Year Proclamation Ceremony' held on the 25th at the Sohado Library Auditorium, the first three citizen runners of the reading relay and members of the Book of the Year Selection Committee are taking a commemorative photo. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

On the 25th, the city held the '2026 Book of the Year Announcement Ceremony' at the Sohado Library auditorium with about 70 participants, including citizens taking part in the reading relay.

This event was organized to widely promote the books selected this year—finalized through citizen recommendations and a selection committee review—and to spread a culture of reading throughout the local community.

In the first part of the ceremony, the Book of the Year was announced with citizen representatives, followed by a handover ceremony in which the first runner of the reading relay received the book. Notably, a citizen representative read aloud from the selected book, sharing the values of empathy and communication created through reading.

In the second part, Baek Heeseong—the author of the general category selection, 'Where the Light Leads'—gave a special lecture. Drawing from his experience and perspective as an architect and writer, Baek delivered an in-depth talk that was met with enthusiastic response from the audience.

The books selected this year are three in total: ▲ General category, 'Where the Light Leads' (Baek Heeseong); ▲ Youth category, 'Yul's Gaze' (Kim Minseo); ▲ Children's category, 'The Always Kind Porridge House' (Lee Jihyun).

Starting with this announcement ceremony, the city plans to operate a variety of related programs, including a reading relay, meetings with authors, and reading discussions. The aim is to go beyond simple reading and to foster a culture of reading communities where citizens can actively participate and experience the joy of reading together.

Choi Hyemin, Acting Mayor (Deputy Mayor) of Gwangmyeong, stated, "I hope this ceremony becomes an opportunity for citizens to connect and communicate through books," adding, "We will continue to steadily promote reading culture initiatives that citizens can experience in their daily lives."

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