With reading rates declining every year, the Korean government is launching another campaign this year. Attention is focused on whether the deepening "Korea turning away from books" trend can be reversed in 2026.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young), together with the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency and the Books-Reading Society Culture Foundation, announced Monday that it will proclaim the start of the public reading campaign "2026 Book-Reading Korea" at 4 p.m. on April 23 at the Starfield Library in COEX, Samseong-dong, Seoul, and push the campaign in full force.
"Book-Reading Korea" is a government campaign designed to cultivate citizens' capacity for thought in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and to spread "the joy of reading in everyday life" throughout local communities.
For this campaign, notable figures who love books will participate as "campaign companions" to widely promote the value of reading. The companions include actress Moon So-ri, who has conveyed reflections on life and society through film and writing; actor and author Ko Myung-hwan, who has communicated the value of reading through numerous books and lectures; novelist Kim Keum-hee, who records the contemporary era with a delicate and warm perspective; writer Lee Sul-a, who has presented new creative and publishing experiments by directly communicating with readers through her serialized writing "Daily Lee Sul-a"; writer Chung Se-rang, who is expanding the horizons of K-literature with original imagination; singer and writer Yozoh, who personally runs a bookstore and practices a life of reading and writing; and Gaeul, a member of the group IVE, who has conveyed the joy of reading through consistent reading habits. Starting from the proclamation ceremony, they will carry out various activities as "campaign companions" throughout the year, sharing the joy and importance of reading in daily life.
The Culture Ministry plans to continuously expand collaboration with figures in the culture and arts sectors and experts in various fields who resonate with the campaign's intent, and to convey the joyful changes that reading brings to the public through their voices.
The proclamation ceremony at Starfield Library on April 23 will be held in two parts: a lecture and the main event. Part 1, starting at 4 p.m., will open with literary critic Professor Na Min-ae delivering an in-depth lecture and dialogue on the theme "How to View the World Through Books."
Part 2, beginning at 5:30 p.m., will be hosted by actor and author Ko Myung-hwan. First, a performance of the musical "A Thousand Blues," based on the novel by Chun Seon-ran, will be staged. This will be followed by a book talk in which Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young, novelist Chung Se-rang, singer and writer Yozoh, and singer Gaeul (IVE) share their reading preferences and discuss the meaning of reading. Afterwards, the campaign's official slogan, selected through a public contest, will be announced, and books will be presented to citizens through a "book gifting ceremony."
Near the Starfield Library, from April 23 to 26, promotional and pop-up booths will host reading experience events. Participants can join customized emotional activities, including a "reading tendency analysis" to check their own reading habits, "making your own keyring and bookmark," and a "sentence vending machine" that prints out book passages matching the current emotion selected. Various prizes will be offered through reading-related quiz events and roulette games, and a "book exchange" where participants can bring a meaningful book and swap it for one donated by another citizen, along with a "photo zone" where visitors can post their "reading resolutions," will also be operated.
The reading rate has declined every year since it was first recorded at 86.8% in the 1994 initial survey.
Starting with the proclamation ceremony, the Culture Ministry will run various year-round programs to help citizens naturally encounter books in their daily lives. First, "campaign companions" and Cabinet members will share their daily reading routines on social media through a "reading relay" to build participation momentum. A monthly "Reading of the Month" service will also provide at-a-glance information on major reading events and programs nationwide, including book fairs and book talks.
From May, 200 local bookstores nationwide will operate customized reading programs spanning all life stages, from children to the elderly, and a "Our Company's Reading Culture" content contest will be held to discover and spread excellent reading cases in workplaces. In addition, from late April, 140 bookstores nationwide will host late-night bookstore events for adults, and from June, "On Book Store," a free e-book and audiobook reading service, will run on the first Wednesday of every month (Culture Day) to expand opportunities for citizens to naturally encounter books in their daily lives.
Online and offline reading challenges will also be held so citizens can participate in the campaign enjoyably. Through "Book Power Certification," which involves carrying out step-by-step reading missions on the campaign's official social media channels (including Instagram), and "Book Check-In," which involves visiting reading destinations such as bookstores and libraries across the country and participating in reading activities, the campaign will actively encourage reading in daily life. Season-specific themed reading programs—family reading in May, travel reading in July and August—and reading programs linked to regional cultural and tourism resources and leisure activities, such as Andong's audiobook walking tour and Chuncheon's "Book Camping," will continue throughout the year.
"In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we will work to strengthen the foundation of a humanities powerhouse and spread reading culture so that the joy of reading can lead to the power of thought," Minister Choi said, according to the Culture Ministry.
Meanwhile, Koreans' disregard for books has reached a serious level. According to the Culture Ministry's "2025 National Reading Survey," the overall reading rate among adults was 38.5% last year, a 4.5 percentage point decline from the previous 2023 survey. This means fewer than 4 out of 10 citizens read even one book a year.
