Seoul History Compilation Institute Distributes Audiobook 'Easily Listening to Seoul History'

Scheduled for distribution three times a week via YouTube

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Seoul History Compilation Institute announced on the 20th that starting this month, it will produce and distribute audiobooks on its institutional YouTube channel for free. The distribution targets are the institute's representative popular books, such as 'Easily Read Seoul History' and 'Seoul 2000 Years for Citizens.' These two series cover 2000 years of Seoul's history from ancient times to the modern era, with each volume addressing 10 to 20 topics by theme. Various topics related to history, daily life, and culture that Seoul citizens might be curious about are reborn and released as audiobooks titled 'Easily Listen to Seoul History' and 'Seoul 2000 Years for Citizens.'

The audiobook distribution will begin with the ancient volume of 'Easily Listen to Seoul History,' providing 178 clips sequentially. The recordings are organized into 20 thematic topics, just like the books. The audiobooks, created with comfortable background music and narration by voice actors, have clips lasting 20 to 30 minutes each. By investing just 30 minutes a day, three times a week, listeners can learn about Seoul's history.

Lee Sang-bae, Director of the Seoul History Compilation Institute, said before the audiobook distribution, “We have been thinking a lot about how citizens can access Seoul history more easily. We hope that through audiobooks, people will become aware of the publications by the Seoul History Compilation Institute in various places.” He added, “As this is the first project attempted by a research institute, we plan to produce audiobooks for various other books such as 'Seoul Culture Yard' this year.”

The Seoul History Compilation Institute is the main organization responsible for compiling Seoul's history. Since its establishment, it has been exploring various projects as a research and investigation institute, including discovering new historical materials related to Seoul, conducting citizen education programs such as lectures and field trips, and holding registered academic journals (certified by the Korea Research Foundation), becoming a leading example among local history compilation institutions nationwide.

The self-production of audiobooks starting this time is also a new attempt. Audiobooks have been a blue ocean in the publishing market for several years. They are a new medium that allows people who find reading difficult to obtain information just by listening. There was also a misconception that history-related books are hard to approach because they belong to the realm of specialized information. However, if information from published books is provided through this new method of audiobooks, it is expected that many citizens will enjoy Seoul's history more easily.

The Seoul History Compilation Institute's audiobook distribution also has significance in terms of developing programs for information-disadvantaged groups. The produced 'listening books' are planned to be provided for wider use by consulting with institutions that demand audiobooks, such as libraries and welfare centers. This distribution is meaningful as an attempt to align with the city's program of walking together with the vulnerable.

The audiobooks will be released three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) sequentially starting today and will first be available on the institute's YouTube channel 'Seoul History Compilation Institute.' Additionally, from the end of February, the service will also begin on the Seoul History Compilation Institute's website and podcast platforms (Podbbang).