The RAS Korean Literature Club discussion
Seoul International Book Fair 2025, Coex Mall, June 18-22, 2025 -- UPDATED with event-reports
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The Book Fair is coming soon!
Please take note: we now have two announced assembly-times, to accommodate all schedules:
- 10:00am, and
- 3:00pm.
Both at Samseong Station [Line 2], Exit 6.
Thanks! --- Feel free to contact me for more information.
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Adapted from something I wrote and shared with the KakaoTalk group on Friday, June 20:
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※※※※ Event Report // The Korean Literature Club's participation in the "Seoul International Book Fair," June 19, 2025 (10am-7pm) ※※※※
By my count, a total of 17 RAS Korean Literature Club members joined the Book Fair event yesterday [Thursday, June 19, 2025]. People came and went throughout the day but mainly there was the 10am early-group and the 3pm late-group.
The ticketing situation seems to have been that over-65s can "talk their way in" to the event anytime. (Jeremy was delighted at how closely the ticketing agent inspected his ID, to confirm he is not a day below 65.)
Younger people needed tickets that were increasingly difficult to get. In fact, tickets are impossible for the general public now through usual means. But I am proud to report that we got all our people in. We got them in through a special method involving our status as the RAS Korean Literature Club.
How can I summarize this event, the Seoul International Book Fair? I cannot. Experiences differed greatly throughout the day. Any such event as this is, I'd say, "what you make of it." With so many thousands of people in the exhibition-hall, experiences will often depend on random encounters and happenstance that cannot be recreated. In other words, an adventure. So any summary attempted would differ from person to person.
Jeremy, the leader of the afternoon group, toured much of the exhibition-space solo, or sometimes with one or two others at his side. Jeremy characteristically engaged with those he found might have something valuable to say. You never know quite who that will be.
As crowds began to thin out in later afternoon into evening, our people regularly ran into each other and shared experiences.l and tips. (Later in the evening I encountered the booth of Across Books, which last year released RAS member Colin Marshall's book, "No Summarizing Korea," a book I reviewed at the time in the Korea Times).
Towards 6pm, the afternoon-group had mostly come together and was "hanging around" the open area between the Germany booth and the France booth. (Except Mr Hwang, I think, who was ensconced in hearing a talk in French by a French author about which he later reported that he had mixed feelings.)
Both the German and French pavilions were large, spacious, inviting, characteristically well-designed. They rivaled the substantial Taiwan pavilion (Taiwan is the "guest of honor" this year) and its space is in the prime area near the main entrance. Meet there many trilingual Taiwanese(Chinese)--Korean--English speakers who are eager to chat in any and all those three languages.
The circle around Jeremy received a few visits by tribute-payers seeking to meet this longtime Seoul literary-figure foreigner.
Then, to our surprise, the German ambassador arrived and "held court" of his own at his national pavilion space!
A crowd of respectable-looking Europeans, and others, had slowly assembled and a cheerful mood prevailed, a lot more relaxed than when the ex-president arrived around 2pm (inward stuck, along with another member of our morning-group, in a crowd trying tense that ex-president before giving up and seeking open space; later people told me that they chance-encoutners with that ex-president elsewhere in the venue, although heavy security is a giveaway).
The German ambassador bantered about books, I assume, but was too far off to hear him. Wine was being distributed and consumed in connection with this German pavilion ambassador-visit. For some reason, no one offered wine to us of the Korean Literature Club circle, standing so near the action...
I spotted a man whom I recognized to be the German cultural attache. A jolly fellow. His mind and spirit know not of that thing called fatigue.
This German cultural attache (embassy employee whose "bread and butter" would be this kind of event), was simply delighted to meet the Korean Literature Club as I introduced him to all. He talked freely with us a few minutes, including out one of his latest projects, on a Korean author active in Germany (I cannot remember the name now).
I say again that this event cannot be easily summarized, though. Any individual would have a wide range of different experiences, depending on chance, time-of-day, interests, language abilities, anything. The venue is huge. Different energies prevail throughout different parts of the day. I felt I commented on the vast late-afternoon vs morning difference repeatedly to those in earshot.
Given that this Korean Literature Club is an English-language, foreigner-oriented organization, one secret to this Book Fair event is how it is indeed in part "for" people like us (International), but at the same time the large majority of attendees are Korean. This mismatch means the non-Korean areas and people of the Book Fair and people are easier to engage with. The mismatch was visible nowhere more than with the substantial Saudi Arabia pavilion (I had among chat with their Neom mega-city plan with one of them). (A common sight was to see Saudi pavilion-connected people, all in their traditional garb, sitting off in chairs to one side for a rest from the commotion. I once said something to one, a middle-aged man. He replied curtly: "No English.")
I had conversations with people from probably twelve or more different countries throughout the day. (I mean strangers, not counting the several nationalities among our own group.)
Let me also try to describe the mood and energy of the day with one further anecdote or scene-sketch:
We ran into a delightful pair of young women associated with a publishing-company from Malaysia. One was a "marketing strategist," the other an "editor." Both pleasant people. (A few other members of this chatroom also talked to them and can corroborate the following.)
These Malaysian girls had with them their company's recently published Malay-language version of "Dallergut Dream Department Store."
I had already explained to them about the Korean Literature Club. I told them the Club had done that very book, "Dallergut" (Part 1 only), last year. This seemed to delight them. Conversation continued: these two Malaysian young women were proud to have squeezed an extra five-days' visit or so to Seoul (vacation) after their activities connected with the book Fair end and they return to return to Malaysia. (You might spot them on the street at Myondong next week; a scene I could picture, anyway).
The Malaysians were big fans of Bora Chung. Learning this, I began boasting that the Korean Literature Club were early readers of the "Red Sword," etc. I asked one of our other members if he had a copy of Red Sword. The leader of the Malaysian pair said (in effect) "A copy of 'Red Sword,' you say? Really. Well, just take a look at THIS!" And she produced, from her bag, a review copy of the book she had received much earlier (it said on the blank cover: "publisher's review copy," or similar).
It came out that the more talkative among rge Malaysian girls is a significant Bookstagrammer (Book-Instagram), back home down there in Malaysia.
The two of them look to be years-long fans of Korean literature, an interest greatly agreeable to work at this Kuala Lumpur translation-oriented publishing company. Their company seems to serve, in part, the now-healthy market of translated Korean fiction ---- which is why they were sent here to the Seoul Book Fair. (I was in Malaysia some months ago and saw substantial numbers of such books being sold.)
I lost track of the Malaysians for a short while after these interactions. I was doing off doing something else, briefly. I returned; and the next thing I saw, the more-talkative among the Malaysians was being hugged....by....Bora Chung! "I kid you not." A highly unusual scene to see, given what (I think) I know of Bora Chung's personality! --- Yet somehow a characteristic scene of the Seoul International Book Fair.
(end)
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(NOTE: this event-report could've easily been several times longer; and maybe I'll add further comments.)
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The following from S.H., another member of the Korean Literature Club who attended and was important to the planning of the excursion:
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(quote from S.H.)
Seoul International Book Fair Review
[written Saturday, June 21, 2025]
Things I noticed at the fair this year:
Scifi was the genre of choice along with childrens books. I was able to pick up a scifi book by a Taiwanese author called Land of the Ghost (they're scifi, but with elements of horror and magic realism which draws parallels to Bora Chung's style). Ive been reading the book at full speed and not only does it send me to memory lanes of my childhood years in Taiwan, but things that I have foregone as a lucky member of the international community who hasn't had to deal with the extreme poverty of the farmers of the indigenous population.
About the president Moon Jaeins appearance, it was such an unusual site to see some 50 plus people waiting to get a shot of him 1 hr prior to his arrival. Unlike what i had expected he wasn't there to promote a new book but simply there to enjoy the fair himself. One lady I talked to didn't even know who she was waiting for it. Later, i found him flipping thru historical books in Taiwan section in close proximity to anyone at the booth without bodyguard. This event just goes to show the many levels of weirdness in Korean society.
In Section B, there was a huge section of independent publishers. I was able to get a seat at the Queer Literature Talk featuring writers from Taiwan. [W.], my buddy thru out the fair, even found a small publisher with books with intricate diagrams (publisher Bori 보리). Earlier, we had stopped by for coffee and even met a Mexican visitor who was happy to speak to us, who later I found out to be children's book writer himself
It was truly an international celebration of books for us, but also copyright negotiations among many publishers looking for creative source material. For those who weren't able to go this year, I recommend purchasing the following books for read
아이들의집 by 정보라
https://share.google/8QEoaumFU6NEOWTqk
귀신들의땅 by 천쓰홍
https://share.google/8QEoaumFU6NEOWTqk
마포주공아파트 by 박철수
https://share.google/S6Hpj8uaFXDKS5vui
Thanks! -- [S.H.]
(end quote from S.H.)
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On total Seoul International Book Fair 2025 attendance:
I wrote above that 17 Korean Literature Club members attended the Book Fair, as part of one of our two groups: the morning (10am) group and the afternoon-evening (3pm and later) group.
I've since heard that others attended solo on other days, and I myself returned on Saturday. Naturally, I don't know the movements of all the dozens of people associated with the Korean Literature Club. I don't know who went and who didn't, except for those who said so.
I have it confirmed that 3 others (besides the 17) attended independently. Since some people don't communicate much at all or share what they've done, it's likely that this total of 3 additional people could be multiplied two or three times over, to around five or ten people. It's further possible that some of those only knew of, or went to, the Book Fair because of promotion done via the Korean Literature Club. If so, this pushes direct-attendance because of our Club to more like "20 to 25."
The Korean Literature Club in 2025 is turning out around 25 people to its monthly gatherings. We now also turn out nearly that many to now-regular extra events, some of the same people but many different (schedules and interests differ). The overall Korean Literature Club community numbers high into the dozens, well over 100 if you count more-or-less active followers across all channels (including here at GoodReads) --- and growing.
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With the monthly meeting of the Korean Literature Club coming up tomorrow (July 10, 2025), there will be some review of the past month's events including the Book Fair excursion. That brings me to I revisit this thread.
Given unlimited time, I could've written more on the Seoul International Book Fair. Especially after I visited another day without any Korean Literature Club friends.
As it is, given other work and commitments, I only ended up adding only one additional thing. It related to the presence of sci-fi novels, a topic S.H. covered in her briefer report. I realize that I never linked to that sci-fi here in the main thread relating to the Book Fair 2025. So here it is:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
See the post, over there, starting with these words:
"It's notable how strong the presence of science-fiction (SF) books and publishers was at the Seoul International Book Fair, June 2025. [...]"
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The Seoul International Book Fair is happening in mid-June 2025. It is a gathering of publishers, writers, and readers. It runs daily from Wednesday June 18 thru Sunday June 22.
Some members of the RAS Korean Literature Club will attend together on the afternoon of Thursday, June 19th.
Please join us! All are invited. Info:
RAS Korean Literature Club excursion to the Intl Book Fair
- Day: Thursday, June 19, 2025
- Gathering-point: Samseong Station (Line 2), Exit 6
- Gathering-times: 10:00am (Group-1); and 3:00pm (Group-2)
- Venue: Halls A & B of Coex Mall
Naturally, people's working and studying schedules, etc., differ. Those who can make it in the morning, join us at opening-time, 10:00am (at the subway-station entrance). Otherwise, we have a second big assembly-time, at 3:00pm, to catch the late-afternoon and evening events.
The close of the event for the day is 7:00pm.
UPDATE (June 14): Tickets are now impossible to get. Entry must be secured through our group. We have secured a special arrangement with the host to get our people into the Book Fair, on behalf of the RAS and the Korean Literature Club.
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A person could wander throughout the Book Fair venue for hours and remain entertained. Special events will be ongoing each day. Of interest on June 19:
(from https://sibf.or.kr/en/page/33?yo=1#ln...
-- 11:00am to 12:30pm: Book Talk, the publication of Chung Bora's new sci-fi novel, “The Children's House,” a Finalist for the 2025 Philip K. Dick Award
-- 4:00pm to 5:30pm: Panel, "The Best Extinction: Inferring a Brilliant End Through Science"
-- 4:30pm to 6:00pm: Panel, "Asian Women Writing Science Fiction"
-- 4:30pm to 5:30pm: Author talk with Xerxes (a Taiwanese science-fiction and mystery-horror author), "Signals of Death and Forms of Fear: From “Coral Bones” to “K.I.N.G.”’s Supernatural City"
-- 6:00pm to 7:00pm: "Taiwanese Ghosts You Can’t Find in Korea: The World of Xiao Xiang Shen’s Tales"
-- 6:00pm to 7:00pm: Book Talk with Lilia Hassen, author of “Panorama” (French author)
The 4:30pm event in particular is of interest in connection with the Red Sword sci-fi book that we are reading for our June 2025 session.
(The "SF" genre was nowhere to be seen ten years ago and now is so powerful. I have so many questions about the why/when/how/who... See my "questions" at: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...).
All the events I listed -- though not all events within the Book Fair -- are open to all ticket-holders, no extra reservation required.
There is, this year, a substantial presence of Taiwanese authors. The stars of the South Korean publishing industry, though, will predominate.
There will be dozens and dozens of publishers present running booths and eager to chat. Who knows what lies within...
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Tickets are 12,000 KRW at the door (free for those over age 65 and children). We'll talk more about this at our upcoming June 12 gathering.
Event website: https://sibf.or.kr/en/