On 'World Book Day,' Kyobo Bookstore Selects Poet Baek Seok as 'Icon of the Year'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Kyobo Book Centre will hold a reading campaign and various events with readers throughout April to celebrate 'World Book Day' on the 23rd. The poet Baek Seok has been selected as the 'Icon of the Year,' and a limited edition collector's book combining his published prose and poetry will be produced and sold.

First, the 'Icon of the Year' selected by Kyobo Book Centre is poet Baek Seok, who marks the 110th anniversary of his birth this year, following Albert Camus in 2020 and Dante Alighieri in 2021. The 'Baek Seok Jeongbon,' which compiles Baek Seok's poetry, essays, and novels?from his debut short story "Geu Mo (Mother) and Son" (1930) to his last published poem before the division, "Namsinju Yudong Bak Sibongbang" (1948)?will be exclusively sold as a limited edition.

Additionally, customers who purchase the 'Baek Seok Jeongbon' at Kyobo Book Centre stores will receive a limited quantity of commemorative magnets for Book Day. Online book buyers can choose a magnet featuring Baek Seok's portrait or a glass paperweight as a gift.

At Kyobo Book Centre Gwanghwamun branch's Kauri Table and the online/mobile Kyobo Book Centre, a campaign and exhibition titled 'We Are the People Who Make Books' will be held in collaboration with leading domestic publishing brands. For this event, 24 publishers each designed unique bookmarks reflecting their individuality. Visitors can see the actual bookmarks at the Gwanghwamun branch. Online/mobile Kyobo Book Centre offers a promotion where customers can select bookmarks from each publisher as gifts when purchasing their books. The exhibition also introduces participating publishers, their publishing philosophies, and representative books. Furthermore, the campaign introduces 36 representative titles by 25 independent publishing authors. These books will be available in limited quantities at the Gwanghwamun branch and online Kyobo Book Centre during the exhibition period.

During the same period, an event encouraging readers to upload photos of unique reading items or moments on Instagram with the hashtag #JeongukChaekgalpijarang (#NationalBookmarkPride) will be held on the online/mobile Kyobo Book Centre. Through voting by Kyobo staff and readers, one grand prize winner, five popularity award winners, and 30 participation award winners will be selected, with a total of 36 people receiving gifts. For more details, please refer to the event page.

There will also be a Book Day event for eBook readers. From the 22nd to May 12th, readers who decorate a book title and their own book cover and share it on SNS or the event page will be entered into a draw to win sam 7.8 devices for five people and e-cash for 300 people.

World Book Day commemorates Saint George's Day in the Catalonia region, where books and roses are gifted, as well as the day Shakespeare and Cervantes died. To honor this day, UNESCO designated April 23rd annually as 'World Book and Copyright Day,' and in Korea, a reading campaign involving gifting books and flowers is held.

Kyobo Book Centre annually celebrates World Book Day by selecting an icon author and conducting various reading campaigns for publishers, authors, and readers.