VOL.69/2024.04

 

The 2023 Seoul International Book Fair and
the K-Book Copyright Market

On-site Report on Hot Issues in the Copyright Market

 

2023.07.03

 

The “National Book Fair,” which began in 1954, was upgraded to an international book fair in 1995 and became the “Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF).” I joined the publishing industry in 1995 as a copyright agent, and attended the SIBF for the first time in the same year. It was named an “international” book fair, but there were a few booths from overseas publishers as well as other international publishers or agents that participated as individual guests. Time has passed since then, and this year, the SIBF marked its 29th anniversary.
Hosted by the Korean Publishers Association, this year’s SIBF was successfully held in COEX located in Samsung-dong, Seoul, over five days from June 14 to 18. With a history of almost half a century, it proved itself as the hub of the Asian publishing market, and a pillar that plays a central role in the global publishing and cultural content market. Furthermore, we could see the enthusiasm of overseas publishers for Korean books at the K-Book Copyright Market, which was also held in conjunction with the SIBF.

 

International publishers seek to secure publishing rights in the K-Book Copyright Market

 

 

Two days before the official start of the SIBF, Korea was bustling with foreign publishers eager to secure translation rights for K-books – the K-Book Copyright Market was open to boost Korean publishers’ copyright exports and promote publishing exchange. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) held the K-Book Copyright Market at the Harmony Rook of the Intercontinental Seoul COEX, located in Gangnam, Seoul, on June 12 and 13. A total of 110 companies participated in the event, including 60 Korean publishers and 50 publishers from 18 countries. It was reminiscent of the heated meetings on publishing rights between publishers from all around the world, which took place in several areas, such as the lobbies of major hotels and cafes near the exhibition place (Messe), before the official start of the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, the biggest book fair in the world.
In a spacious meeting area, 8 Korean companies, including Blue & Tree and Woozoo Books, kicked off the K-Book Copyright Market event by presenting the features and advantages of their publishing content to international participants. Following the presentation, which raised interest in Korean publishing content, one-on-one copyright export consultations were held between Korean and foreign publishers at the tables provided for each participating company. In a separate room, four export experts from Greater China, Asia, North America, and Europe provided consultations on the strategies for overseas market advancement and export by each language region for companies in need of publishing export advice.

 

 

After the business meetings, a networking reception was organized for Korean and international participants to come together for refreshments and further interaction. The participants were positive about this event as it provided a venue for them to build more intimacy with each other. The event also gave me the impression of the miniature version of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Also, I’m confident that the K-Book Copyright Market, which was held in advance along with the schedule of the SIBF, provided an opportunity for all Korean and international participants to make meaningful achievements. The organizers of the event indeed had good strategic senses.
In this year’s K-Book Copyright Market, publishers from 9 countries (Germany, Mexico, the US, Brazil, Spain, the UK, Argentina, Poland, and Switzerland) newly joined the existing countries (Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, France, Italy, and China) that participated in last year’s event. Prominent international publishers such as Vietnam Women’s Publishing House, PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama from Indonesia, Albin Michel from France, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial from Spain, and Fondo de Cultura Económica from Mexico attended the event along with representative publishers in Korea, such as Munhakdongne, Changbi, Darakwon, Dasan Books, Mirae N, Sanzini Books, and Daewon CI, who showed off the diversity of Korean publishing content. In addition, more than 10 companies from Taiwan, China, Singapore, and the US participated in trading publishing-related IP, and several major Korean companies, including Moonpia, participated in the event, adding vitality to the export of original publishing content.

 

The SIBF concluded successfully with positive response from Korean and international publishers

 

 

Many readers from home and abroad enjoyably visited the SIBF this year held in Samsung-dong, COEX, as the pandemic has now become endemic. A total of 530 publishing houses (360 from Korea and 170 from overseas) from 36 countries participated. Compared to last year’s event, which was joined by 195 companies from 15 countries, the number has almost tripled. Also, 215 writers and speakers attended the book fair (190 from Korea and 25 from overseas), and the number of visitors was measured to have reached 130 thousand, a 30% increase from last year. Plus, the booth from Sharjah, the guest of honor of the book fair this year, was installed at the hall’s entrance, drawing the visitors’ attention. Sharjah is the cultural and artistic center of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, and Korea will be the guest of honor at the Sharjah International Book Fair in November.
The opening ceremony of SIBF was joined by famous figures in the publishing industry from home and abroad, including Park Bo-Gyoon, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Yoon Cheol-Ho, President of the Korean Publishers Association, Karin Pansa, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the Sharjah Book Authority, Canadian writer Yann Martel, Korean writer Kim In-Sook, as well as the first lady of Korea, Mrs. Kim Gun-Hee. In the congratulatory remarks, Mrs. Kim said, “The world is already paying attention to our books, which tell unique Korean stories. I am very proud of our writers,” and added, “I myself will do my best to promote Korean books around the world and help them lead the global publishing market.”

 

 

Meanwhile, famous writers and speakers from Korea and abroad also joined the event, including Yann Martel, who won the Booker Prize in 2002 with Life of Pi, Viet Thanh Nguyen, who wrote The Sympathizer, Cheon Myeong-Kwan, who wrote Whale (Munhakdongne), Kim Ae-Ran and Choi Eun-Young, Korean female novelists that represent people in their 30s and 40s, and Kim Cho-Yeop and Cheon Sun-Ran, who received spotlight for their Sci-Fi fiction. They met the readers through about 170 programs, including the exhibition, side events, lectures, and seminars, and the seats for key lectures were sold out early, showing the great interest of the readers.

 

 

At this year’s SIBF, international publishers were particularly interested in purchasing the translation rights of Korean publications in addition to their expectations for Korean books. For example, the tables prepared in the Rights Center organized in Hall A and B were all occupied throughout the event, which could not be used without making a reservation. It was interesting to see experienced editors and publishers in Korea and so many agents engaged in selling Korean books in various language markets in the venue, who could not gather for the past few years due to the pandemic. They certainly had to have a lot of global business meetings at the Rights Center this year.
The Rights Center being full also means that there were many guests from 36 other countries that came with great interest in purchasing copyrights of Korean books, or with an intention to sell their books in other language markets, including Korean. The fact that the SIBF is emerging as a major venue for the cross-promotion and sales of numerous titles is a green light. It already makes me look forward to next year’s fair. However, it would have been nice to have some empty tables in the Rights Center in addition to the meeting tables, where copyright professionals could sit down and have some conversations with others.
Editors and copyright agents from major overseas publishing houses in Asia, Europe, and the US had a busy schedule during the book fair. They met with Korean publishers of books in their respective fields of interest and agents who manage translation rights for those books. An official from a Taiwanese publishing house that has been successfully promoting, marketing, and selling the book Uncanny Convenience Store (Namu Bench) by Kim Ho-Yeon, had a smile on her face, as she showed me the bestseller list on a Taiwanese online bookstore, saying that the recently-published second volume of the book became a bestseller as well. Another official from one of the Taiwanese publishers also added that Taiwanese readers are highly interested in heart-touching novels that can be read with ease, like Uncanny Convenience Store.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 57 - Go to the article about the successful import case of Uncanny Convenience Store in Taiwan

 

A Chinese publishing house that published the simplified Chinese version of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Viche Books), webnovel by Sing N Song, expressed hope that the second volume will be able to gain more momentum in sales in the local market, as the first volume has been quite popular among Chinese readers. Also, a leading publisher in Germany showed interest in My Crazy Feminist Girlfriend (Nabiclub) by Min Ji-Hyoung, an editor from Russia was interested in young adult fiction for adolescents, and another editor was much into Korean webnovels and webtoons. Plus, a reputable publisher in Thailand was interested in Korean titles in various fields at the fair. It had meetings with Korean companies that own content in the fields of webnovel, general literature, and self-help in particular, and it was confirmed that it intends to proceed with the offer for several titles.

 

 

As such, Korea has become an ideal environment for publishers of all sizes to produce a variety of meaningful business outcomes in the global publishing market, as long as they have competitive publishing content with a unique and distinctive character. The future of Korean publishing is promising, given the overwhelming number of small publishing houses run by unique and talented former editors, and the role and opportunity of the Korean publishing market expanding significantly in the global publishing market.

 

 

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Written by Joseph Lee (President of KL Management)