Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
New York fair connects Korean publishers with American readers
A promotional poster for the "Outreach New York Book Fair" / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Jhoo Dong-chan
A new push to bring Korean literature and webtoons into the U.S. mainstream is set to land in Manhattan this week.
Hosted at the NYC Seminar & Conference Center on Wednesday and Thursday, the "Outreach New York Book Fair" directly connects Korean publishers with major U.S. buyers, paving the way for "K-books" to capture the lucrative North American market.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, a state-run body that supports the publishing industry, have organized similar outreach fairs in three to five countries annually since 2015, holding one-on-one export meetings between Korean publishers and local buyers.
Last year's edition, held in five countries, produced 1,045 consultations and about $17.66 million in export results. Last year's New York leg alone generated 252 meetings worth more than $7.5 million.
This year's fairs will also visit Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Italy. In New York, 15 Korean publishers, including Dasan Books, will meet 40 U.S. publishing houses, agencies and imprints, among them Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group's Grand Central Publishing.
A Wednesday seminar will feature literary agent Barbara Zitwer, who helped introduce Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" and Kyung-sook Shin's "Please Look After Mom" to English-language readers, speaking on strategies for Korean content's growth in the U.S. publishing market.
Korean publishing content is also expanding beyond literature. According to market tracker Circana BookScan, 10 English-language print editions of "Solo Leveling," a novel based on a Korean webtoon, ranked among the top 20 U.S. annual bestsellers, while several Korean novels have recently secured screen-adaptation deals, the ministry said.
"The U.S. is the world's largest publishing market and one where publishing intellectual property can expand into diverse content," a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism content industry policy official said, adding that the ministry hopes Korean publishers will find real export opportunities and explore new business at the fair.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.