Taiwan Pavilion draws crowds on 1st day of Seoul Int'l Book Fair

Seoul, June 18 (CNA) The Seoul International Book Fair opened Wednesday, drawing large crowds to the Taiwan Pavilion, with the country being the guest of honor.

The exhibition kicked off at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center to the driving beats of the Taiwanese Hokkien rock band Tsng-kha-lâng.

Before long, visitors flocked to the Taiwan Pavilion, thanks in part to its location at the entrance of the main hall.

In his remarks at the event's launch, Yoon Chul‑ho, president of the Korean Publishers Association, which co-hosts the fair, praised Taiwan for injecting vibrancy into the publishing industry in Asia and Taiwanese publishers for engaging in frequent exchanges with their South Korean counterparts.

Yoon Chul-ho expressed hope that the book fair would help the two sides further deepen mutual understanding, he said.

He referenced the sudden declaration of martial law by former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in December last year and how such actions would stifle freedoms of speech and publication.

He said he hopes that newly inaugurated South Korean President Lee Jae-myung loves reading and would introduce policies that benefit the publishing industry.

Locus Publishing Co. Publisher Rex How (郝明義), speaking in Korean, said in his remarks that "Taiwanese sensibilities" have become a catchphrase among South Koreans when talking about Taiwan.

How, who said that the phrase evokes a warm and amiable feeling, noted that the team behind the Taiwan Pavilion hoped to introduce several aspects of Taiwan to South Korean audiences with a similar human touch.

Under the pavilion's theme of reading, visitors can expect to learn about Taiwan's history, literature, lifestyles, graphics, folk culture, tourism, and food and drinks from 550 books that will be showcased at the book fair, according to a statement by Taiwan Creative Content Agency, a government foundation that markets Taiwanese art internationally.

Among the 23 featured artists at the Taiwan Pavilion, Chen Xue (陳雪) and her novels centered on gender issues and same-sex marriage garnered the most attention from South Korean news outlets.

According to a press release issued Wednesday by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, works by Chen Xue -- including "Skyscraper (摩天大樓)," "Ten Years in a Same-Sex Marriage (同婚十年:我們靜靜的生活)," and "Writing Class (寫作課)" -- have all been translated into Korean.

In addition to speaking at events held at the Taiwan Pavilion, Chen was also interviewed by major Korean media outlets such as the Chosun Daily, Yonhap News Agency, Korea Economic Daily, Maeil Business Newspaper, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and Segye Ilbo.