Korea was chosen as The London Book Fair Market Focus for 2014 held from 8 to 10 to reflect the country's status as one of the top ten publishing markets in the world, and its expanding reputation within the international literary community.
The eleventh Market Focus will build on a heritage of enhancing cultural and political exchanges between Korea and the UK.
Through The London Book Fair's professional programme and the British Council's cultural programme, UK audiences will gain unprecedented access to Korean authors, cultural commentators and publishing market experts.
Korea Market Focus Pavillion (516m2) consists of Authors' Zone, History Zone, Business Lounge & WBC (Incheon, World Book Capital 2015), Event Zone, Digital Publishing Zone, Webtoon & Manhwa and LTI (Literature Translation Institute of Korea).
This year's Cultural Programme involves ten of Korea's most prominent and exciting writers who represent the very best of the country's contemporary literature. The participating writers represent the diversity of contemporary Korean writing across a range of themes and formats. Among the authors is Hwang Sun-Mi, author of the allegorical fable The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, who will participate in seminars, talks, book signings and photo opportunities across the fair. It took more than ten years for this million-selling book to be published by Penguin in the US and UK.
The Korean Publishers Association (KPA) has consistently endeavored to facilitate more exchanges between Korean and international publishers. For the year 2014, The KPA runs Korean Collective Stands at 9 international book fairs including The Bologna Children's Book Fair, The Beijing International Book Fair, and The Frankfurt Book Fair.
Export exerts are dispatched to support Korean publishers to land contracts. Korean publishers in search of potential business partners will be able to expand their businesses abroad.
The British Council, now in its seventh year as strategic partner to The London Book Fair, has worked in wide consultation with its official partners, industry professionals, and experts in the field to curate and develop a cultural programme which demonstrates the excellence, depth and breadth of the contemporary Korean literary scene.
LBF and The Publishers Association have selected an authority of UK judges, working at the heart of each category, whose international or discipline-specific expertise qualifies them to judge their peers' work.
