Korean picture books are capturing the attention of Chinese readers.

Not only picture books, but also interactive e-books and advanced e-books that have adopted new technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), have also grabbed readers' curiosity during the 2016 Beijing International Book Fair.

A booth promoting Korean picture books, "Learn the Nature," displayed 55 selected Korean titles, including some about science. Visitors immediately wanted to buy the books at the booth, and some others even wanted links to some Korean online bookstores so that they could buy other picture books in the future. Catalogues introducing the books at the booth and other informative materials, including video clips screened at the booth, were prepared for the visitors. Publishers and people in the industry also visited the booth.

In the Korean e-publishing hall, 12 e-publishing companies were present, featuring newly electronically published content, solutions and platforms that help e-books to adopt new technologies, such as AR and VR. Visitors at the booths enjoyed new experiences reading in AR and VR.






Alongside the themed booths, a Korea booth was separately run at the book fair featuring some 30 publishers and literary agencies. About 1,500 books were introduced at the Korea booth, and literary agents were ready at the booth to help Chinese buyers deal with copyright issues.

During the book fair, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, the China Press and Publication Academe and China Intercontinental Press, and a Korea-China publishing forum also took place where publishing experts from the two countries discussed further partnerships in the two countries' publishing industries.

The 2016 Beijing International Book Fair, in its 23rd year, is one of the biggest book fairs in East Asia and is considered one of the top four international book fairs worldwide, along with the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the London Book Fair.

By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
icchang@korea.kr