Seoul International Book Fair questions how writers and readers should confront AI
Published: 18 Mar. 2026, 17:42
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![The poster for the Seoul International Book Fair 2026 shows this year’s theme, “Homo duduri,″ meant to be a ″new name for the questioning human.″ [SEOUL INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/18/4e997ab0-6a47-45f3-be70-52d4620d0cdf.jpg)
The poster for the Seoul International Book Fair 2026 shows this year’s theme, “Homo duduri,″ meant to be a ″new name for the questioning human.″ [SEOUL INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR]
The Seoul International Book Fair is exploring how humans should confront artificial intelligence.
The organizers released the theme for 2026 and the accompanying statement on March 7, crediting novelist Kim Yeon-su and two AI models as co-writers — a choice that has stirred debate.
The Seoul International Book Fair takes place in Seoul every June. This year's theme, “Homo duduri,” is a portmanteau of “homo sapien” and duduri, a Korean mythical figure known for confronting fire rather than fleeing from it. Duduri, an early form of dokkaebi, or goblin, also historically refers to a blacksmith.
The statement uses that imagery to frame how humans, especially those in the publishing industry, should respond to rapidly advancing AI.
“Humans have created things with fire ever since the first person approached it without fear,” the statement reads. “And AI is no different from fire. The issue lies not with the element itself but with what we forge with it.”
But readers on social media were more focused on the names listed beneath the text than on the metaphor. The statement credits Kim, a writer known for the 2007 novel “Whoever You Are, No Matter How Lonely” (translated); Claude Sonnet, an AI model developed by the U.S. startup Anthropic; and Gemini, an AI system developed by Google.
Some readers argued that the choice reflected the theme itself, as a statement about living with AI should involve AI in its creation. But many others reacted with surprise or skepticism, commenting, “I can’t believe the book fair entrusted its foreword to AI” and “This is shocking.”
![Excerpt from the Seoul International Book Fair 2026's theme statement, credited to writer Kim Yeon-su, Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Gemini 3 [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/18/f6b460a9-391c-4d7e-8ff1-2c8af6b7c57e.jpg)
Excerpt from the Seoul International Book Fair 2026's theme statement, credited to writer Kim Yeon-su, Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Gemini 3 [SCREEN CAPTURE]
According to a planner for the Seoul International Book Fair, the decision to use AI to write the statement was a result of the theme itself.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the match between Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo, and it is also a time when the use of AI in publishing has become a major topic,” the planner said, referring to the Go match between the renowned player and the AI program developed by DeepMind Technologies.
“At the time, [humans and AI] were seen as rivals. Now, the relationship has shifted toward coexistence. 'Homo duduri' refers to the human who confronts this new 'fire' and questions how to live with it.”
Kim, who has experimented with using AI in his writing process, created the statement with AI models trained on 10 classic texts from the digital library Project Gutenberg by exchanging prompts and responses.
“We wanted to explore AI as a theme in-depth, so it made sense to us to write the statement with AI,” the planner continued. “[Kim] also suggested documenting the process and making it public.”
The fair plans to release the documented process in a special limited-edition publication that will accompany the event.
![Customers look at books at a bookstore in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/18/e385c116-8549-497f-96cd-8f241434360e.jpg)
Customers look at books at a bookstore in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2025. [YONHAP]
The statement and its surrounding controversy have also revived a broader debate in the publishing industry regarding how writers should disclose the use of AI in their work — or whether they should even use it in the first place.
Under current Korean laws, authors who publish online or in print do not have to disclose whether they used AI tools in the writing process. The Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Creation of a Foundation for Trust, which took effect on Jan. 22, does not explicitly apply to published works.
Lee Yong-hae, a lawyer who serves as advisory counsel for the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, said the use of AI in published writing remains largely unregulated.
“It's difficult to interpret the current AI framework law as applying to published works,” Lee said. “When a human author uses AI to write, whether they disclose that essentially depends on the author’s conscience. In that sense, it remains a legal gray area.”
But some publishers say that the issue will eventually require strict standards.
A publishing house chief who asked to remain anonymous said that the rapid development of AI has “outpaced both legal frameworks and social consensus.”
While publishing companies hold different views on how to approach AI-assisted writing, the executive said that maintaining readers' trust may ultimately require clearer disclosure practices.
“In the long run, there should be a shared system that allows authors to explain how they used AI, such as whether to search for information or assist with planning,” the executive said.
For organizers of the book fair, the controversy itself may be part of the conversation that they hope to encourage.
“Because this is such a sensitive issue in publishing, we hope that the lectures and exhibitions at the fair will create a space for discussion,” the planner said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI HYE-RI [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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