Seoul book fair stands strong without government backing

The 2024 Seoul International Book Fair, the first edition to be held without government subsidies, wrapped up its five-day event with resounding success on June 30.

“We deeply apologize to the readers who experienced inconveniences during the weekend due to the large crowds,” the Korean Publishers Association, the fair's organizer, posted on Instagram on the final day of the fair.

According to the KPA, approximately 150,000 visitors attended the fair over its five-day run from June 26 to 30 -- a sizable increase from last year's 130,000. Although they need to finalize revenue calculations, the figure is significant in terms of visitor numbers.

“This year's book fair stood on its own without government aid, but was truly an event where publishers and readers stood together. We believe the youth and enthusiasm you displayed are the future of books," the post continued.

The fair was bustling with visitors. On Saturday, it took more than an hour just to get in, and once inside the sheer number of people made it difficult to browse the books at various booths.

“I came on Thursday and today (Saturday),” said Lee Chae-young, a 27-year-old visitor who describes herself as an avid reader. “Even though I specifically timed my visit for the morning, it was still very crowded. Popular publishers’ booths and programs were so packed that I had to wait in another long line to browse through.”

Young female readers lead the trend

Following last year’s trend, this year's fair saw a significant turnout of young people, particularly women in their 20s and 30s. Industry insiders who interacted with visitors estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the visitors were young women, underscoring their dominant presence.

Why are young people flocking to the book fair?

Industry insiders believe young readers who gather information online via social media are drawn to the tangible experiences offered in exclusive spaces at the book fair.

“Young people seem to enjoy the book fair like they would a pop-up store,” one publisher official at the fair told The Korea Herald.

Beyond the official program, talks and signing events hosted by publishers as well as limited re-covered editions proved immensely popular.

“We prepared re-cover editions just for the book fair and the stock we brought sold out completely. It seems that cover design is also an important selling point,” said another publisher official.

Booths catering to individual preferences and interactive experiences drew long lines.

At Changbi Publisher’s booth, its poetry collection, which combines poetry with music, was a particular hit. At the booth of this year’s spotlight country, Oman, the Arabic calligraphy also drew in a lot of people.

Wearingeul, a stationery brand with literature works, was another hit with its DIY poetry books, where visitors could pick out poems they want to added on their own. One independent publisher also offered on-the-spot poetry, where a poet composed short poems based on customers’ keywords using a typewriter.

Other attractions included blind essay matching and books picked by one's birthday.

“Young visitors, especially female visitors, seem to be seeking ways to ‘connect’ with others who share similar interests and emotions, with books serving as a bridge in an era where individuals are increasingly isolated,” said Han Ki-ho, a researcher and CEO of the Korean Publishing Institute with over 40 years of experience in the industry. Han, who visited the fair daily, also credited the young women as being thoroughly prepared for the book fair experience.

“Many visitors came well-prepared, informed about the programs through social media and ready to participate in events like book signings, (instead of just dropping by). This has resulted in a surge of visitors at specific times. It’s like a fandom is built based on authors and publishers,” Han said.

“Participating publishers also strategically engaged visitors. Instead of focusing solely on immediate sales, they focused on interactions and building loyal fans with brand image.”

First book fair without government subsidies

For the first time, the SIBF was held without government subsidies, relying solely on donations, membership fees and booth fees from publishers.

Since last July, an ongoing conflict between the Culture Ministry and the KPA over the handling of profits from previous fairs remains unresolved. The ministry referred KPA Chairman Yoon Chul-ho and SIBF CEO Joo Iroo to police on charges of violating subsidy laws, while the KPA countersued for defamation. Following an audit by the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA), a public institution under the ministry, the KPA was ordered to return 359 million won ($260,000). The KPA has contested this decision through an administrative lawsuit.

With the subsidies cut, the KPA had to increase booth fees to host the event. The number of invited countries also dropped from 36 last year to 17 this year.

The Culture Ministry withheld the allocated budget of 670 million won for the fair, instead supporting individual publisher events such as author talks and signings.

“Until last year, we supported venue rental and setup costs through the KPA. This year, we are supporting domestic publishers’ events and programs. A total of 188 publishers benefited from this support,” the Culture Ministry said in a recent press release. Publishers received up to 3 million won.

The KPA argues that the KPIPA did not specify the obligation to return profits in its agreements for the 2018 and 2019 fairs. The calculation methods and refund conditions for profits were not specified then, and the KPIPA only revised the subsidy guidelines in September last year to define profits. The KPA contends that applying this rule retroactively to the 2018-2019 fairs is unreasonable.

KPA Chairman Yoon said, “If we comply with the government’s profit settlement, the KPA would lose money every year to hold the SIBF.”

Last year, the fair’s expenses totaled approximately 4 billion won, with subsidies amounting to 770 million won. First Vice Minister Cheun Byon-geuk from the Culture Ministry attended this year’s opening ceremony on Wednesday. Neither first lady Kim Keon Hee nor the culture minister, who attended last year’s ceremony, were present this year.