November 1-12 'Infinite Imagination' Theme Guest Country Pavilion Operation
16 Participants Including Literary, Picture Book, and Humanities Authors Kim Seung-hee, Jeong Ho-seung, Kim Ae-ran, Kim Eon-su, Hwang Sun-mi, and Others
Korea will participate as the guest of honor country at the "2023 Sharjah International Book Fair," held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from December 1 to 12 next month. A guest of honor pavilion (Korean pavilion) will be set up to introduce Korean books and host book talks by Korean authors. This is the first time Korea has participated as the guest of honor country at an Arab book fair.
The Sharjah International Book Fair is the largest book fair in the Arab world, initiated by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah. It features participation from 81 countries and over 2,000 companies, hosting nearly 1,900 literary, cultural, and artistic events. The fair attracts about 2.5 million visitors. Among the seven emirates of the UAE, a cultural powerhouse in the Middle East, Sharjah stands out for its cultural strengths. It fosters publishing as a national industry and actively promotes international publishing exchanges. In 2019, Sharjah was designated as the UNESCO World Book Capital.
This year’s guest of honor theme is "Unlimited Imagination." It seeks to explore solutions to various societal issues through artistic and scientific imagination. To this end, the guest of honor pavilion, covering 189㎡ (50 pyeong), will host diverse exhibitions of "K-Books," author book talks, publishing academic conferences, performances, cooking demonstrations, and traditional cultural experiences.
The guest of honor pavilion exhibitions include: ▲ "Korean Authors Exhibition," showcasing 70 literary works by seven authors including Kim Seung-hee, Jung Ho-seung, Kim Ae-ran, Kim Un-su, Bae Myung-hoon, Son Won-pyung, and Hwang Sun-mi, along with an anthology of their translated works; ▲ "Theme Exhibition," aligned with the guest of honor theme "Unlimited Imagination," featuring a total of 79 works categorized into subthemes such as "Horizon of Time" (space, Earth, ecosystem, online space), "Palace of Memory" (myth, religion, monsters, history), "Expansion of Senses" (flora and fauna, humans, community), and "Emerging Future" (SF, machines, robots, dystopia); ▲ "Picture Book Exhibition," introducing 106 titles including picture books by artists Kyung Hye-won, Kim Sang-geun, Park Hyun-min, and Choi Hye-jin, as well as picture books related to the fair’s theme and digital picture books.
Six literary authors?Kim Seung-hee, Jung Ho-seung, Kim Ae-ran, Kim Un-su, Bae Myung-hoon, and Hwang Sun-mi?will engage directly with readers in the Middle East through eight literary events. A literary event will be held at Sharjah’s state-of-the-art futuristic public library, the "House of Wisdom," to commemorate the donation of Korean literature translations.
Lectures and discussions by Korean picture book authors will also take place. Picture book book talks (six sessions) featuring Kyung Hye-won, Kim Sang-geun, Park Hyun-min, and Choi Hye-jin, along with joint drawing workshops with local children (three sessions), will be held. Additionally, lectures and discussions (six sessions) covering Korean humanities, science, and webtoon creators such as Kim Ho (Korean history), Ahn Ji-na (comparative literature), Lee Hee-soo (Middle East-Islamic culture), Jung Moon-nee (web novels), and Jung Se-won (comics) will explore Korean webtoons, web novels, and independent comics.
Korean cultural events will also be featured, including: ▲ music performances (five sessions) by Korean fusion gugak (traditional Korean music) and performance groups SANGJARU and HAEPAARY; ▲ cooking demonstrations and talks by Korean chefs Kim Joo-hyun and Kim Kyung-min; ▲ calligraphy demonstrations and experiential events by Korean calligrapher Lee Jung-hwa. The Korean Cultural Center in the UAE will offer traditional Korean cultural experiences such as traditional fan coloring, mother-of-pearl inlay joint workshops, hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) experiences, and traditional Korean cultural performances.
Prior to the book fair’s opening, a publishing expert program will be held starting on November 25. At the 14th Sharjah Publishers Conference, the guest of honor roundtable will feature presentations on recent changes in the Korean publishing market, copyright infringement responses in textbook publishing, and the appeal of Korean webtoons and web novels. Publishing rights export-import consultations involving domestic and international publishing stakeholders will also be conducted.
The opening ceremony of the "Sharjah International Book Fair" and the Korean guest of honor pavilion will be held at 10 a.m. local time on November 1 at the Expo Centre Sharjah. From Korea, First Vice Minister Jeon Byung-geuk of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ambassador Ryu Je-seung to the UAE will attend, along with government and publishing officials from Sharjah, including the Sharjah Book Authority.
Vice Minister Jeon Byung-geuk stated, "As K-content’s influence grows in the Middle East, I hope this year’s guest of honor event in Sharjah, which possesses rich cultural assets, will introduce Korea’s talented authors and works to broaden the local readership base and lay the foundation for expanding publishing exchanges. I also look forward to strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields such as culture, sports, and tourism, starting with this publishing exchange."
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