Good news for bookworms

By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Sinem Betul

Photos = Seoul International Book Fair

The Seoul International Book Fair will run from June 14 to 18 this year.

Basically, a bookworm is the larva of a wood-boring beetle that feeds on the paper and glue in books. In 1580 the definition was first used to describe a person who was unusually devoted to reading and studying. Actually, I don't know why the word is used for reading-addicted people, but when I think about, it sounds great to describe a person who devours a book overnight.

From June 14 to 18, there will be an international book fair in Seoul that's organized by the Korean Publishers Association. The first book fair was held in October 1947, under the name of the Educational Book Exhibition. After that, the fair was held intermittently, but from 2008 it has been organized yearly.

In 2016, the Guest of Honor country was Italy.

Since 2012, each year a different country was designated as a Guest of Honor country at the book fair. The first was mainland China. This year, it's going to be Turkey. The reason for choosing Turkey is that 2017 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Ankara and Seoul.

In this 60-year framework, "The year 2017 was mutually declared as Turkish-Korean Culture Year, which will be celebrated through numerous cultural activities in both countries." If you want to learn more about it, you can read this and this.

At the fair, Turkey will host a range of events, lectures and seminars for publishing experts in Korea, and hopes that Korean and international readers will take a closer look at Turkish literature. There will be events promoting Turkish writers and also art performances, including the traditional shadow play “Karagoz,” and a display about traditional paper marbling, or ebru. 

Some important information about the fair

The venue for the fair is Hall A, B1 at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul. You can visit the fair from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fair is free if you have a Visitor's Pass, if you're under 7 or above 65, or if you have a disability. For elementary, middle, high-school and university students, the entrance is KRW 3,000. For all others, it's KRW 5,000.

For transportation and accommodation information, you can click here. Most importantly, the program of the fair is just a click away. 

By the way, I almost forgot to share the official social media accounts for the book fair. The fair is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Naver.

It would be great if I could attend this event, too. To be honest, I'm not a bookworm, sadly, but as a person who loves to learn more about other countries, this is a perfect opportunity to learn a bit about them. 

See you there.

wisdom117@korea.kr

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