Gwangju City Confirmed to Host the 2026 National Library Conference

Gwangju City, Library Association, and Gwangju Tourism Organization Sign Agreement on the 27th
Sharing the Nation's Largest Reading Promotion Policy with 3,500 Participants

Sanggap Lee, Deputy Mayor of Culture and Economy of Gwangju, is taking a commemorative photo after signing an implementation agreement for the selection of the host city for the 2026 National Library Conference with Seungjin Kwak, President of the Korean Library Association, and Junyoung Park, Director of Gwangju Tourism Organization, at the City Hall Business Room on the morning of the 27th. Provided by Gwangju City

Gwangju City has been officially selected as the host city for the 63rd National Library Conference, the largest library event in Korea.

On the 27th, Gwangju City announced that it had signed an "Implementation Agreement on Support for Hosting the 63rd National Library Conference and Exhibition" with the Korean Library Association and Gwangju Tourism Organization at the City Hall Business Room. The signing ceremony was attended by Lee Sanggap, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy, Kwak Seungjin, President of the Korean Library Association, and Park Junyoung, Head of Gwangju Tourism Organization.

The National Library Conference, hosted by the Korean Library Association, is the largest library event in Korea, held every October. It brings together library professionals from the Presidential National Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, metropolitan governments, and libraries nationwide to share the latest information and discuss strategies for library development.

According to the agreement, Gwangju City will provide administrative support, including organizing side events, to ensure the successful hosting of the National Library Conference, while the Gwangju Tourism Organization will support MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) initiatives.

The 63rd National Library Conference will be held over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026, at the Kimdaejung Convention Center. About 3,500 participants are expected to attend, and the event will serve as an opportunity to promote local libraries and reading promotion policies nationwide, with positive economic effects anticipated through regional tourism.

The year 2026 holds special significance as it marks the opening of Gwangju's representative library. The city is accelerating the opening of Hanam Library in Gwangsan-gu and the Seogu Representative Library to usher in the "One Municipal Library per District" era, inspired by writer Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature, which brought global attention to the May 18 Democratization Movement. In this context, hosting the national conference is expected to further strengthen Gwangju's city brand as a "City of Reading."

Kim Seongbae, Director of Culture and Sports, stated, "We will do our utmost to ensure the successful hosting of the 2026 National Library Conference so that Gwangju can establish itself as a 'City of Reading' and contribute to the development of libraries nationwide."