Korea will participate as a guest country of honor at this year's Bogota International Book Fair, which opens on April 19 in the Colombian capital.
The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on April 14 said the ministry, Korean Publishers Association, Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTIK), Gwacheon National Science Museum, and Korean Cultural Center in Mexico will run a guest country section at the fair covering 3,000 square meters.
To run until May 2 at the Conferias International Business and Exhibition Center in Bogota, the two-week event will see about 600 participating organizations and companies from around the world hold literary, cultural, and art events.
Korea's participation as a guest country of honor was discussed last year in August when Colombian President Ivan Duque held summit talks while visiting Korea. Both countries agreed to take part in each other's book fairs as an opportunity for bilateral exchange and cooperation in publishing.
In June, Colombia will be the guest country of honor at the Seoul International Book Fair.
Since its launch in 1988, the Bogota event has seen an average of 600,000 visitors per year as the second-largest book fair in South America. This year's edition is being held offline for the first time in three years.
In Bogota, Korea is holding exhibitions, cultural events, performances, and movie programs under the theme "Togetherness" of people, nations, and humans and nature.
Korean writers Kim Kyung-Uk, Eun Hee-Kyung, Lee Moon-Jae, Jung Young-Su, Jeong You-Jeong, and Han Kang will hold online discussions with readers in South America. The LTIK will hold a memorial event to mark the publication of the Korean literary collection "Anthology" which is jointly produced with the Secretary Office of Culture, Recreation, and Sport of Bogota.
The institute will also hold cultural events with Bogota Public Library and the National University of Colombia, and show four short films based on Korean literature including Kim's "Big Brother" and Jung's "Tomorrow's Lovers."
