MCST announces Pohang as the 2024 City of Books

The announcement of the 2024 City of Books Ceremony was held at 3 pm on March 28 at the CHANGeUP GROUND Pohang. Each year’s City of Books becomes the host city of the Korea Reading Festival, the country’s biggest book festival. At the ceremony, Pohang was announced as the 2024 City of Books and began its journey toward the 2024 Korea Reading Festival.

In partnership with the Korean Publication Industry Promotion Agency (KPIPA), the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (Minister Yu In Chon) has selected a City of Books from among applicant cities each year since 2014. The awarded city hosts the Korea Reading Festival in September in celebration of the Month of Reading.

The MCST received applications from local governments last September and eventually selected Pohang as the 2024 City of Books. Based on its wealth of reading infrastructure, including eight Municipal Libraries and 49 Small Libraries, Pohang has hosted a number of book festivals, including One Book One Pohang, and has operated over 540 public reading programs.

Pohang will host “The East Sea Meets Books” as a year-around reading program and the Korea Reading

Festival in September Starting from the day of the Announcement Ceremony, Pohang will run a year-round reading program entitled The East Sea Meets Books. It will host the Korea Reading Festival in September. This year’s events will include a number of participatory programs that link reading with other activities in order to attract those who might not yet enjoy reading. Programs that will run throughout the year include the Reading Marathon, in which participants upload their reading logs to the Korea Reading Festival website; A Walking Tour of Bookstores, in which participants walk between local bookstores collecting a stamp from each; the Ocean Concert, which combines reading with musical performance; Meet the Author events with local authors; and the Eonnine Checdabang (sister’s book café). The main events of the 2024 Korea Reading Festival will take place from September 27 to 29 in the Yeongildae area in partnership with local libraries, publishers, and other related organizations. For more details about the programs at the 2024 Korea Reading Festival, visit the festival website (www.korearf.kpipa.or.kr).

“The programs that the city government of Pohang is preparing for the festival will provide ample opportunities for citizens to enjoy reading in diverse and fun ways,” said an official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. “Congratulations to Pohang for being nominated as the 2024 City of Books and the host city of the Korea Reading Festival.”

(Source)

http://www.mcst.go.kr/kor/s_notice/press/pressView.jsp?pSeq=20951