The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on May 12 announced its hosting of the inaugural Visiting Korean Book Fair in the Czech Republic and Poland from May 12-16, fueled by the rising popularity of Korean literature in Eastern Europe. Shown is a scene from an export conference in September last year as part of the 2024 fair in Madrid, Spain.

By Lee Dasom
Photos = Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Visiting Korean Book Fair, which seeks to promote domestic books worldwide, will be held this week in the Czech Republic and Poland.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Seoul on May 12 announced its joint hosting of the inaugural event from May 12-16 in the two Eastern European states along with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea.

The event's venue from May 12-13 is the Grand Hotel International Prague in the Czech capital and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw from May 15-16. Korean and foreign companies will discuss the export of Korean books in both cities.

Fifteen Korean publishers including Munhakdongne Publishing and Mirae N will participate in the talks and hold individual export consultations with 57 Czech and Polish counterparts.

Korea will be the guest country of honor at the Warsaw International Book Fair from May 15-18 at the Palace of Culture and Science, with Korean culture and other cultural arts to be highlighted.

The ministry also announced more conferences on Korean book exports worldwide in the second half of the year including in Taiwan (July), the U.S. (September) and the United Arab Emirates (November).

These are guides to the Visiting Korean Book Fair in Prague (left) and Warsaw (right).