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| Images from the first Kenektid Book Fair held in 2019 / Courtesy of Kenektid X Bookstore |
Literature has had an interesting ride over the last year. More people seem to be turning to books amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but these new reading habits have yet to make a significant economic impact on the publishing industry.
Kenektid X Bookstore, a small shop located on the outdoor third-floor terrace of the Sewoon Shopping Center complex, is going ahead with its annual book fair later this month.
The shop specializes in independent publishing, art books and zines of all kinds, as well as other related merchandise like book clips, bags, hoodies and notebooks. The publications available dive deep into various subjects, from art and travel to street art and even cats, which are the theme of several publications. Many of the books are photo zines and art zines, easy for anybody to understand despite language differences.
This year, 80 independent publishers will gather to promote their offerings, with various events including book talks and seminars. Kenektid is also running a fundraising campaign through Tumblbug, and looking for more small publishers to work with. The event will be taking place online from Feb. 23 to 28, with a small number of offline events scheduled for Feb. 26 to 28 to be held at Mudaeryuk in Hapjeong-dong.
This will be the second Kenektid Book Fair, after the first one was held in 2019 inside Sewoon Shopping Center and the second was canceled last year due to COVID-19.
Kenektid traces its origins back to 2008, when Kim spent a year living in New York. His roommates started Kenektid as a creative agency there, working with galleries, studios and various other creative communities.
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| Kenektid X Bookstore in Sewoon Shopping Center / Courtesy of Kenektid X Bookstore |
After he returned to Korea, Kim worked in marketing for a print shop where he produced exhibition prints for Kenektid X Gallery in New York. While working there, he fostered an interest in independent publishing which led him to the idea of opening a bookstore affiliated with Kenektid New York.
In the course of actively seeking out independent bookstores for market research, he ended up at Sewoon Shopping Center.
"I came to Sewoon Shopping Center for the first time to find a bookstore," he said. "It was around sunset, and I loved seeing the sun setting over Namsan. So I thought it would be nice to read books and have an outdoor event, so I settled down in the area."
The complex, built in the late 1960s as an urban megaproject, has been undergoing many changes lately due to a city regeneration program targeting the old concrete structure. After extensive renovation and rebuilding of the outdoor terrace connecting the buildings above traffic, various businesses run by and catering to young people have moved into the iconic building.
"It is located in Euljiro and Jongno, one of the most complex places in Seoul, and yet it is isolated and calm," Kim said. "It is a good place for us to introduce books, and I hope more people will come here, relax and buy a lot of books."
His shop is located in a small space on the east side of the northernmost building, overlooking the underdeveloped neighborhood sprawled out around the complex.
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| Kenektid X Bookstore / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar |
"I think it's good to have Sewoon Shopping Center renovated and changed to a place where people can find it again, but it seems to be becoming a place where the old and new forms cannot be harmonized," he said.
As the building fills with trendy cafes and eateries, he worries about its direction and the future of the area.
"Restaurants and artists come in, but their work does not have much to do with the lives of existing merchants. It is a pity that there is no software that can harmonize the existing merchants with the current changing social system. Simply the maintenance of space and the increase in the floating population do not fit the urban regeneration project. I think half the success will take a little more time."
Sewoon Shopping Center is an ideal place for an independent bookstore because of its proximity to printers. The rustic setting has also inspired some creative activities, as seen in some of the photo books as well as the imaginative cartoon "Coffee on the Roof" by engisstuff, about a cafe run by cats on the roofs of an urban area resembling Sewoon's surroundings.
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| A previous event held at Kenektid X Bookstore / Courtesy of Kenektid X Bookstore |
But just like the delicate industrial economy of the region, the future of the independent publishing industry is also up in the air.
"I don't know the future of the publishing industry," Kim said. "I think this is a transition period. Because of digital technology that has threatened the medium of books, we are in an era when anyone could make books, so it is not the time for writers to publish books through publishers. Everyone wants to tell their story, and they want to share it in the form of a book. I think that if the question of how to share such books with many people is solved, it will brighten the future of the publishing industry."
Visit fb.com/KENEKTIDXBOOKSTORE or kenektidxbookstore.kr for more information.
