150,000 Visitors Flock to Book Festival: The 'Text Hip' Trend in the Age of AI

[Anchor]

The Seoul International Book Fair concluded yesterday, June 28. Over 150,000 book enthusiasts attended the event.

Reporter Lee Joo-sang has the story.

[Reporter]

The Seoul International Book Fair continues to grow in popularity each year.

Long lines formed at every event booth, and there was barely any room to move in front of the towering bookshelves.

With 530 publishers and related organizations from 18 countries participating, the daily admission tickets, capped at 30,000 for the five-day event, sold out early.

[Lee Soo-jung / Gwanak-gu, Seoul: Even if you don't read much, coming here makes you want to buy books. I think that creates a very positive cycle. It makes you think, 'If I buy it, maybe I'll read it,' and that desire naturally follows.]

The theme of this year's book fair was "Human Declaration."

It poses a question about the unique domain of humanity in the age of AI.

[Park Woon / Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do: We have to accept that AI is coming, and I think the most important thing is how we use AI through books as a tool.]

France, the guest of honor this year, set up a large booth where popular authors greeted visitors.

[Bernard Werber: I am sorry that space is limited despite so many of you coming. Usually, I say a lot of silly things, but I probably shouldn't do that today.]

This year, a "world of books" unfolded even outside the main venue of the Seoul International Book Fair.

Small-scale publishers held their own independent book fairs.

[Ha Jung / Organizer of the Seoul Independent Book Fair: Not all books get the chance to be featured at a major book fair. We created this space so that all kinds of books—whether they are self-help books, children's books, or art books—can gather and meet their readers.]

Publishers who oppose the commercial operation of the Seoul International Book Fair also held a separate event.

While the overall reading population is declining, the trend of reading remains strong, particularly among the younger generation.

Reported by Lee Joo-sang | Video Editing: Park Chun-bae | VJ: Oh Se-gwan
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.