The South Korean government is promoting K-books in the U.S., the world's largest publishing market.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency announced that the 'Traveling New York Book Fair' is taking place from September 2 to 3 at the NYC Seminar and Conference Center.
Since 2015, the 'Traveling Book Fair' has supported export consultations between domestic publishers and local buyers in 3 to 5 countries each year. Last year, consultations in five countries resulted in 1,045 export consultations, generating approximately $17.66 million in export revenue.
This year, export consultations will be held in Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, the U.S., and Italy. During last year's New York consultations, 252 meetings were held, resulting in consultations worth over $7.5 million. This year, the fair aims to explore opportunities for copyright exports and the expansion of publishing intellectual property (IP) through discussions with key local publishing and rights representatives.
Fifteen domestic publishers, including Gloyeon, Story Flower, Dasan Books, MiraeN, Jasim and Moem, and Cake Co., are participating in the event to conduct consultations. They will also facilitate consultations for 101 consigned books.
In the U.S., 40 companies are participating, including major global publishing groups, independent publishers, specialized publishers, and literary agencies. Notable participants include 'Penguin Random House,' 'HarperCollins,' and 'Simon & Schuster,' as well as 'Grand Central Publishing' from the Hachette Book Group.
On September 2, a seminar will feature Barbara Zitwer, a first-generation literary agent who successfully introduced Korean literature abroad with works like 'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang and 'Please Look After Mom' by Shin Kyung-sook. She will present on 'Global Success Strategies for Korean Content: Opportunities for Growth in the U.S. Publishing Market.'
Korean publishing content is expanding beyond literature in the U.S. market to include graphic novels and adaptations of publishing IP into visual media. According to U.S. market research firm 'Sakana BookScan,' ten print editions of the Korean web novel and webtoon-based graphic novel 'Solo Leveling' (by Chugong) have entered the annual sales rankings within the top 20.
Contracts for adaptations of Korean novels such as 'A Thousand Blue' (by Cheon Seon-ran), 'Hole' (by Pyeon Hye-young), 'The Origin of Species' (by Jeong You-jeong), and 'The Designers' (by Kim Eon-soo) are also actively being signed, making this consultation a significant opportunity to promote the secondary adaptation of Korean publishing IP.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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