By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - The 2016 Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), one of the four largest book fairs in the world, will open at the Beijing International Exhibition Center from August 24 to 28. For the 23rd book fair, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will support Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) and Korean Publisher Association (KPA) to spread out Korean wave through Korean books.  

The view of the 22nd Beijing International Book Fair held last year. Korean publishers will seek ways to explore business opportunities in this year's book fair./ Source: Beijing International Book Fair website

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During the fair, 29 Korean publishers such as Kyowon, Darakwon, Woongjin Thinkbig, and Yeowon Media as well as 14 copyright agencies will seek ways to broaden their exports while displaying 1,500 books in the Korean Pavilion, according to a source from the BIBF on Tuesday.

The Korean Picture Book Exhibition Hall, organized by KPIPA, will be open to attract Chinese visitors. Under the theme of 'Learning from the nature", 55 types of Korean nonfiction picture books will be introduced to the visitors. Korean copyright agents will be on site to promote Korean picture books to foreign buyers and provide counseling on copyright trading.

The Korean E-Publishing Hall will be also open in the book fair where 12 companies including NeoLAB Convergence, DNP Corporation, Victoria Production, Bookpal, Vuidea, and SmartHan will exhibit e-contents, solution, and platforms using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

On the second day of the book fair, KPIPA will sign a memorandum of understanding with Chinese Academy of News and Publishing and Wuzhou Electronic Publishing Center to enhance mutual cooperation in the field of publishing. A publishing forum between Korea and China will open as well. Kim Ku-jeong, a representative of Shanghai-based publishing company Good Morning, said, "The Chinese market is known to have huge potential. On the other hand, Korea has competitive contents. The upcoming forum will focus on the possibility of spreading Korean wave through K-books."