Seoul International Book Fair Opens with Record Attendance Expected

The Seoul International Book Fair, South Korea's largest literary event, opened Wednesday at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul, with organizers expecting about 150,000 visitors. The fair runs through Sunday and features 538 publishers and industry organizations from 18 nations, according to Yonhap News.

A total of 326 authors and speakers from South Korea and abroad are participating in the five-day event, with advance tickets already sold out.

This year's fair adopts the theme "Homo Duduri," exploring what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. Duduri, an ancient name for a blacksmith, serves as the archetype of a "dokkaebi," or goblin, from old Korean texts.

Korean novelist Kim Yeon-su, co-authoring a theme statement with AI models Claude and Gemini, wrote: "Today, the fire of AI blazes before us. No matter the question, AI answers without hesitation. It writes novels, composes songs and directs films in an instant. There is no way to avoid this fire. What kind of wisdom, then, do we need in the face of these fierce flames?"

He added: "Here lies the fundamental difference between humans and AI. AI closes the door of possibility with the most probable answer. Humans reopen that door with a greater question. ... And books are the records of those great questions."

The fair brings together renowned writers including novelists Baik Sou Linne, Chung Bora, Eun Hee-kyung and Kim Ae-ran, as well as poets Ahn Mi-ok and Oh Eun. Other lecturers include singer-songwriter Sunwoo Jung-a, actress Kim Shin-rok and Ven. Sunjae.

To mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France, France is the guest country of honor, with 12,000 French books on display.

First Lady's Remarks

First lady Kim Hea Kyung visited the festival on its opening day and gave a congratulatory speech. According to Yonhap, she said: "I firmly believe that a good book can change a person's thinking and even transform society."

Perspectives

Organizers

The fair's organizers highlight the "text-hip" trend, describing reading as now stylish among younger generations. They frame the event as a response to the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, using the Homo Duduri theme to question what distinguishes human creativity from AI's capabilities.

Kim Yeon-su, Theme Statement Co-author

Kim Yeon-su's statement, co-written with AI models, emphasizes a key distinction: while AI provides the most probable answer, humans ask greater questions. He positions books as records of those questions, suggesting a complementary rather than confrontational relationship between human thought and AI.