Home > Culture > Books

Korean books aim to be the world’s next cup of tea at London Book Fair

Published: 10 Mar. 2025, 11:19

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

A view of the London Book Fair in London, Britain, on March 12, 2024. [YONHAP]

The Culture Ministry announced on Monday that it will set up a booth at the upcoming London Book Fair to promote the export of local books.

Slated to run from March 11 to 13, representatives from 10 local publishers will be present at the fair to discuss copyright deals and sales of their materials to potential overseas buyers at the ministry's "Rights Centre."

These books include “B(B)cut for You” by Lee Geum-yi, who was short-listed for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2024, as well as titles by Jung Se-rang and Park Sang-young, according to the Culture Ministry.

An additional 101 titles from 38 more publishers will be on display for agents, distributors and publishers to freely browse at the fair. These include the picture book “Isaga” by Lee Ji-eyon, which received a special mention from the 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Prize, and “Vacation” by Lee Myung-ae, which was selected for the International Board on Books for Young People's Silent Book Honor List in 2023.

Image of the Culture Ministry's ″Rights Centre″ set up at the 2025 London Book Fair, slated to run from March 11 to 13. [CULTURE MINISTRY]

The Culture Ministry said it will continuously support domestic publishing companies' overseas expansion by establishing export counseling booths at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy in late March, the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany in October and the Shanghai Children's Book Fair in China in November.

“As the United Kingdom is an important gateway to the Anglo-American publishing market, we hope that 'K-Book' will actively enter this market, starting with its participation in the London Book Fair,” said Lim Sung-hwan, Director of Media Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. “The ministry will continue to spare no effort to help domestic publishing companies expand overseas in a stable environment and strengthen their position in the global publishing market.”

The London Book Fair, the largest book fair in the United Kingdom, is the only book fair that specializes in business-to-business transactions and does not include business-to-consumer transactions. Each year, more than 1,000 exhibitors and 30,000 publishing professionals from more than 100 countries come together to trade books and content rights and share publishing skills and trends through more than 100 programs, including seminars.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]