Publishers from 31 Countries Gather in Seoul for K-Book Copyright Export Market

Ministry of Culture to Host K-Book Copyright Market from June 22 to 24
1,850 Consultations Scheduled Between 200 Domestic and Overseas Companies

Publishing and content companies from 31 countries around the world are gathering in Seoul to seek copyrights and intellectual property (IP) rights for Korean books.

Photo of the 2025 K-Book 1:1 Export Consultation Site. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 22nd that it will hold the "2026 K-Book Copyright Market" at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul, together with the Korea Publishing Industry Promotion Agency, until the 24th.

Now in its eighth year, the K-Book Copyright Market is a B2B (business-to-business) consultation event that supports the overseas expansion of Korean publishing content. This year, 100 companies from 31 countries and 100 Korean publishing and content companies are participating, with plans to conduct approximately 1,850 one-on-one export consultations.

At the venue, export consultations between domestic and overseas participants will take place, along with expert consulting sessions and networking events for participating companies. Interpreters for different language groups are being provided for overseas publishers. Investment promotion briefings for domestic companies and overseas seminars were held online in advance, allowing the on-site event to focus on consultations and networking.

At last year's event, 99 domestic companies and 98 overseas companies participated. A total of 1,708 consultations were conducted, with the total consultation amount reaching approximately USD 86.2 million. Subsequently, overseas contracts were signed for works such as "Seongsonyeon" by Lee Heeju, "Jeolchang" by Koo Byungmo, "Botanical Optimism" by Kim Geumhee, "Marigold Mind Laundry" by Yoon Jeongeun, and "Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookstore" by Hwang Boreum.

This year, major English-language publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Hachette are participating, along with Japan's Shogakukan and Gakken, Italy's Rizzoli, France's Albin Michel, and Russia's Eksmo. By continent, 57 companies from 12 countries in Asia and Oceania, 34 companies from 14 countries in Europe, 6 companies from 3 countries in North and Latin America, and 4 companies from 2 countries in Africa and the Middle East are participating. Guatemala, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Lebanon have joined for the first time this year.

The range of participating sectors has also expanded. In addition to traditional publishers and agencies, broadcasters, online video service (OTT) companies, webtoon and web novel platforms, and content production companies are now taking part. Consultation topics have also broadened beyond literature and children's picture books to include non-fiction, comics, and digital publishing.

On the final day of the event, overseas participants will visit the Seoul International Book Fair to explore additional business opportunities with Korean publishers.

Kim Jaehyun, Director-General for Culture and Media Industry at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "As the international standing of K-Books, the root of K-Content, continues to rise, we hope this event will lead to substantial export results and that K-Books will further expand into diverse content such as films and dramas."

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