Korean authors to make their mark at Bogota International Book Fair

Some 100 Korean authors and artists including Lee Suzy, the Hans Christian Andersen Award winning author, and webtoonist Soo Shin-ji are sharing their works with the Spanish speaking public of Colombia at the Bogota International Book Fair that launched on Tuesday.

“The 100 writers and artists will be sharing a piece of Korea with the public in Colombia,” said Juan Carlos Caiza, ambassador of Colombia to Korea, while speaking with the press at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Seoul on Tuesday.

“The event comes at a historic moment for the bilateral relations, which celebrate their 60th anniversary this year,” he added. “As Colombia and Korea expand their economic and political ties, cultural exchanges will hold the key to bring our two nations even closer.”

Korea is the guest of honor at the Bogota International Book Fair taking place in the capital city of the Latin American country from Tuesday to May 2. Colombia will be the guest of honor at the Seoul International Book Fair, the largest of its kind in Korea, from June 1 to 5, scheduled to take place in Coex, southern Seoul.

The special agreement was made between Colombian President Ivan Duque Márquez and President Moon Jae-in during Duque’s visit to Korea in August 2021.

Award-winning author Lee and other authors of children’s books in Korea including Jung Jin-ho, author of “Look Up!” will present their works together in a special lecture scheduled during the fair in Bogota.

Soo, creator of the popular webtoon series “Myeoneuragi,” which tells a story from the perspective of a daughter-in-law of a patriarchal family will also be addressing an audience at the fair with Enrique Uribe Jongbloed, a Colombian expert on media and culture.

Man Booker winner Han Kang will be also be speaking at the fair, though virtually, according to Korea's Culture Ministry.

Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be launching the Spanish translation of his memoir, “Resolved,” at the fair on April 30.

Twenty-one Colombian authors will present their works at the Seoul International Book Fair, according to the Colombian Embassy in Seoul.

“Some of the female writers who are growing as an emerging force in Colombia will be sharing their personal stories of growth as authors, including the challenges of being a woman in the profession,” said Luz Ángela Carrillo Cruz, third secretary at the embassy.

The annual festival, one of the largest in the region and attended by some 600,000 people annually in recent years, was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.