Literature and webtoons under one roof... Frankfurt Book Fair to host jointly run Korea Pavilion

[Financial News] A joint Korea Pavilion showcasing Korean literature, picture books, web novels and webtoons under one roof will be set up at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. It will bring together promotional spaces previously operated by separate institutions and support copyright export consultations for Korean publishing content.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 7th, the ministry and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea will run an export consultation pavilion at the book fair, taking place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from today through the 11th.
This year, the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea are jointly organizing a Korea Pavilion for the first time, under the theme “Crossroads of Stories.” It will present publishing content from a range of fields, including literature, humanities, picture books, web novels and webtoons.
Fifteen Korean companies, including Munhakdongne Publishing Group, Changbi, Munpia and The Pinkfong Company, will participate in the export consultation pavilion. They will introduce their works to overseas publishers and agencies and discuss copyright exports.
The exhibition will also feature 103 titles supplied on consignment by publishers unable to attend in person. A professional agency will handle export consultations on their behalf, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea will provide follow-up consultations to help turn them into actual contracts. Last year, 299 consultations were held at the export consultation pavilion.
A dedicated booth for the “K-Book Global 100 Project,” launched this year, will showcase 89 titles from 20 selected publishers and agencies. The initiative identifies books with potential for overseas expansion and supports translation and marketing tailored to different language markets and their characteristics.
On the 8th, an exchange event for Korean and international publishing professionals will be held with the Korean Cultural Center in Germany. On the 9th, Ahn Graphics, Woori School and TC Agency will take part in an investment-attraction event to present key works to overseas industry representatives.
The fair’s organizers will hold “Book to Screen Day” on the 9th, focusing on adaptations of literature into films and TV series. They will also organize a program connecting publishers and literary agencies with production companies. This Korea Pavilion, bringing literature and webtoons together under one roof, will also explore opportunities for overseas publication and diverse uses of original works.
Kim Jae-hyun, director general of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Culture and Media Industry Office, said they would support the continued creation of added value from content intellectual property (IP), beyond copyright exports, adding, “We will steadily build a strong foundation for overseas expansion.”

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