In celebration of the Korea-Canada Year of Cultural Exchanges 2024-2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST), in collaboration with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (Director KIM Jun Hee, KPIPA) and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (President PARK Chang Sik, KOFICE), will exhibit 98 Korean books and hold events with authors at the Montreal Book Fair (Le Salon du livre de Montréal) [1], to be held from November 27 to December 1 in the Montreal Convention Center (Palais des congrès de Montréal) in Canada. Korea and Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Korea-Canada Year of Exchanges 2024-2025 in June and have been organizing various cultural exchange events to foster cultural exchanges and strengthen ties between the two countries.

Under the Theme “Encounters with K-Books Bridge Cultures,” the K-Book Exhibit will feature a special exhibition on HAN Kang and showcase Korean literature, picture books, web novels and more

During the Montreal Book Fair, the K-Book Exhibit will set up five exhibit halls to hold a special exhibition on HAN Kang and feature Korean literature, picture books, web novels and Hangeul. The special exhibition for HAN Kang will showcase her 11 books, including two books translated in French The Vegetarian (Changbi) and We Do Not Part (Munhakdongne), and Human Acts (Changbi) and I Put the Evening in the Drawer (Moonji). The Korean literature exhibit will bring together Korean literary works published in Canada and their English and French versions, including Young Man Who Bought the Tree Shade (BIR Publishing) by LEE Suzy, named as one of the 10 Best Children’s Books in 2023 by the Wall Street Journal, and works by a range of Korean writers, such as MA Young Shin, JUNG Young Moon and Keum Suk Gendry-Kim. The picture book section will exhibit 17 winning works from the Korea Picture Book Award in 2023 and 2024, including How To Be a True Friend (PARK Hyun Min, Changbi) and The First Day When A Little Wolf Got A Pair of Glasses (YOON Jung Mi, Sakyejul), and 49 wordless picture books, such as Big Fish (LEE Ki Hoon, BIR Publishing). The web novel exhibit will feature four series novels: The Knight Only Lives Today and Becoming the Monarch (Soulpung), and The Demon King Who Levels Up with Martial Arts and The Demon King Who Levels Up by Devouring (Iboxson).

Korean authors of picture books, literature and web novels will share thoughts on their books with local readers and hold exchange events with Canadian authors

Six Korean authors – picture book writers Bamco and Soo Shin Ji, literary writers YUN Ko Eun and JEONG You Jeong and web novelists Soulpung and Iboxson – are set to meet with local readers in person at the K-Book Exhibit from November 27 (Wed.) to 29 (Fri.). Bamco will share her stories about how her Bologna Ragazzi Award winning book Rice Rice Rice was born; and Soo Shin Ji, the author of Sarin and Gone, will discuss her creative process and life as a woman. YUN Ko Eun will talk about her eco-thriller The Disaster Tourist, which received the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award in 2021; and JEONG You Jeong will discuss inspiration behind her works that enabled her to explore the meaning of human nature and existence. Soulpung and Iboxson will hold author talks on web novels. Lectures and interactive experiences to promote Hangeul based on the Hangeul exhibits will run from November 27 (Wed.) through 30 (Sat.).

In addition, conversations between Korean and Canadian authors and workshops will take place at the University of Montreal and the Bibliotheque Benny in Montreal. JEONG You Jeong and YUN Ko Eun will engage with Canadian writer Kim Thúy, the author of Ru, Mãn, and Vi and recipient of the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Grand Prix RTL-Lire. Bamco and Yayo, a writer based in Canada and who has published works in Korea, will hold a workshop on picture books.

An MCST representative stated, “In commemoration of the Korea-Canada Year of Exchanges 2024-2025, we look forward to having more robust cultural exchanges in the arena of publishing between the two countries and further accelerating the Korean Wave in Canada’s publishing industry,” adding, “Looking ahead, MCST aims to promote the brilliance and artistic quality of K-Books and raise interest in and the profile of K-Books globally to ensure Korean publishing content can expand its reach across the world.”