Incheon has been designated as the 2015 World Book Capital by UNESCO, bringing with it many exciting events for book lovers.

The Korean port city will host a variety of book-related events for the next year until April 22, 2016, under the vision “Books for All” and the slogan “Read and Discover Yourself.”




The opening ceremony of the year-long World Book Capital event was held at Convensia, Songdo, with over 500 attendees. Participants included representatives from international organizations such as UNESCO, the International Publishers Association, the International Federation for Library and Information Association, and the Asia Pacific Publishers Association.

“This year, Incheon will host a very important international conference, the World Education Forum, to make future plans for education,” said Eric Jean Louis Falt, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information. He thanked the city for hosting such an important function, and expressed his hope that Incheon can achieve a positive win-win effect.

“I hope many of you take interest in various programs in Incheon, the World Book Capital,” said First Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Min-gwon.

“The World Book Capital will be an event for the world, not just for Incheon," said Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok. “This will become the foundation for all of humankind to share new thoughts.”







Various programs will be held after the opening ceremony, including meetings with authors, a special exhibition dubbed “the first issue of Korean newspapers and magazines," an exhibition on archival culture, a chance to try woodblock printing, and an event called “Meet Humanities through Films.”

Other programs include the 2015 Korea Reading Festival scheduled to be held in September by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, an exhibition on archival culture slated for October 30 to November 29, the Digital Book Fair Korea in November and the Incheon International Children's Book Fair which will be held from November 11 to 15. 

April 23 was designated as World Book Day in 1995, to mark the passing of the two writers of great literature -- Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) and William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who both passed away on April 23. It is also St. George’s Day in Catalonia, Spain, where people give each other books and roses.





More information about World Book Capital 2015 events is available on the official homepage: http://worldbookcapital2015.incheon.go.kr/

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon So-hyang, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
arete@korea.kr