Twenty-one distinctive local bookstores from across the country will gather in Jeonju to hold a book fair.
The Korea Federation of Bookstore Cooperatives said Friday that it will hold the "Life Reading × Life Bookstore Book Fair" from July 17 to 18 at "Moijang," a local market hall in Jeonju's Nambu Market. The event is the first book fair jointly held by bookstores participating in the "Life Reading × Life Bookstore" project run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publishing Industry Promotion Agency. Twenty-one local bookstores will participate, operating "Life Bookstore Booths" and presenting reading culture programs tailored to different life stages along with curated exhibitions.
The event is held in cooperation with "Jeonju Chaekkwae," a leading domestic independent publishing book fair. "Chaekkwae" refers to the book brokers who traveled across the country distributing books during the Joseon Dynasty. Jeonju Chaekkwae has established itself as a book culture festival connecting Jeonju's publishing heritage with the nation's independent publishing culture.
At the event, local bookstores from across the country will operate "Life Bookstore Booths" reflecting their own philosophies and content, introducing recommended books. A "Life Book Curation Shelf" selected by participating bookstores will also be set up. Each bookstore will introduce books that influenced their lives and bookstore operations, as well as books they strongly want to recommend to readers.
Life-stage experience programs targeting children, teenagers, adults, and seniors will also run. On July 17, programs include Beotji Bookstore's reading session for reciting, writing, and sharing "palm-sized children's poems," Yeohaeng Maeul's "World of Braille Read by Fingertips," and Bomnal-ui Sanchaek's "A Walk Through Modern Poetry with Poet Kim Su-ye." On July 18, programs continue with Tamjo Bookstore's urban birdwatching story "Apartment Bird Guide 100," Toechon Bookstore's "Memory Fragments: Making Upcycled Brooches," and Bookstore Subuk's "Writing the First Sentence of My Life."
"This book fair is the first occasion for local bookstores across the country to share with citizens the life-stage-tailored reading culture activities they have been running," a Korea Federation of Bookstore Cooperatives official said. "It will show how local bookstores serve as cultural hubs in their regions, beyond simply being spaces that sell books."
