By Baek Byung-yeul
The 19th annual Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), which completed its five-day run at COEX southern Seoul, Sunday, is the country's biggest publishing industry event and celebrated its biggest fair ever.
But despite the record number of participants, the lack of people from major English-speaking nations shows that the SIBF hasn't fully earned its stripes yet as an international event.
This year's one was participated in by 610 publishing houses from 25 countries, compared to last year's 580 firms from 20 countries. Still, the presence of domestic publishers and authors was predominant.
According to the Korean Publishers Association (KPA), about 200 companies among the participants were foreign firms, including 20 publishers from India, this year's "Guest of Honor" nation that was brining more representatives than usual.
"Major publishers in English-speaking nations, which obviously are the biggest movers in the global market, haven't been joining the event. This prevents SIBF from being taken seriously as an international book industry event," said Han Ki-ho, head of the Korean Publishing Market Research Institute.
The Tokyo International Book Fair (TIBF), launched three years prior to the Seoul fair in 1992, seems to be everything SIBF isn't but wishes to be. TIBF is firmly established as the Asia's biggest book fair. Since 2010, TIBF organizers have been co-hosting the event with an annual electronic book expo, now regarded as the world's biggest trade fair dedicated to e-book technology.
Last year, the TIBF and e-book expo garnered more than 80,000 visitors. For this year's TIBF, which kicks off its four-day run from July 3, a total of 1,360 publishing houses from 25 countries will take part, while more than 150 companies will feature their updated electronic book technology at the expo.
Compared to the buzz generated by the rival Tokyo fair, SIBF looks practically irrelevant.
"To be a recognized fair at a global level, the SIBF has to do a better job in representing the unique identity of the Korean market and the opportunities it provides to global companies. Right now, it's just a glorified local event that allows booklovers to buy some paperbacks at a discount," Han said.
The 19th annual Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), which completed its five-day run at COEX southern Seoul, Sunday, is the country's biggest publishing industry event and celebrated its biggest fair ever.
But despite the record number of participants, the lack of people from major English-speaking nations shows that the SIBF hasn't fully earned its stripes yet as an international event.
This year's one was participated in by 610 publishing houses from 25 countries, compared to last year's 580 firms from 20 countries. Still, the presence of domestic publishers and authors was predominant.
According to the Korean Publishers Association (KPA), about 200 companies among the participants were foreign firms, including 20 publishers from India, this year's "Guest of Honor" nation that was brining more representatives than usual.
"Major publishers in English-speaking nations, which obviously are the biggest movers in the global market, haven't been joining the event. This prevents SIBF from being taken seriously as an international book industry event," said Han Ki-ho, head of the Korean Publishing Market Research Institute.
The Tokyo International Book Fair (TIBF), launched three years prior to the Seoul fair in 1992, seems to be everything SIBF isn't but wishes to be. TIBF is firmly established as the Asia's biggest book fair. Since 2010, TIBF organizers have been co-hosting the event with an annual electronic book expo, now regarded as the world's biggest trade fair dedicated to e-book technology.
Last year, the TIBF and e-book expo garnered more than 80,000 visitors. For this year's TIBF, which kicks off its four-day run from July 3, a total of 1,360 publishing houses from 25 countries will take part, while more than 150 companies will feature their updated electronic book technology at the expo.
Compared to the buzz generated by the rival Tokyo fair, SIBF looks practically irrelevant.
"To be a recognized fair at a global level, the SIBF has to do a better job in representing the unique identity of the Korean market and the opportunities it provides to global companies. Right now, it's just a glorified local event that allows booklovers to buy some paperbacks at a discount," Han said.
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