Gwangju City Announces Final Selection of Three 'Book of the Year 2026' Titles, Promoting Intergenerational Communication

Decided by a Vote of Over 7,000 Citizens

On February 3, Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province announced the final selection of three books as the 'Book of the Year 2026' to promote a reading culture where citizens read and communicate together.

Gwangju City Announces Selection of Three Books for '2026 Book of the Year'. Provided by Gyeonggi Gwangju City.

The selected books by category are: ▲General category: "The Dignity of Adulthood" ▲Youth category: "Yul's Perspective" ▲Children's category: "Haedeun Snack Bar." This selection process involved a citizen vote following reviews by the working committee and the library operations committee last year.

A total of 7,158 citizens participated in the voting both online and offline. As a result, ▲General category: "The Dignity of Adulthood" received 856 votes (39%), ▲Youth category: "Yul's Perspective" received 926 votes (43%), and ▲Children's category: "Haedeun Snack Bar" received 1,386 votes (49%), each earning the highest number of votes in their respective categories and being confirmed as the 'Book of the Year.'

Notably, starting this year, the city has introduced a new youth category in addition to the existing children's and general categories. By selecting books tailored to the interests of young people, Gwangju City aims to expand youth participation in reading and establish a foundation for reading communication that spans all generations.

A library official stated, "To create a reading environment that brings together all generations, from children to adults, we plan to hold a variety of cultural events such as book exhibitions, author meet-and-greets, book report writing, and special lectures linked to the selected books."

Meanwhile, the city plans to launch a reading campaign to build a 'Reading Gwangju City,' in collaboration with local public and private libraries, as well as schools, following this announcement. Related information can be found on the library website, and inquiries can be directed to the Central Library.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.