Book talk, family reading awards and jazz performance set for Saturday at district office to promote reading culture
Seoul's Seocho-gu will bring together families and neighbors through books, hosting a reading festival to celebrate the joy of reading and foster community connections.
The district will hold "Seocho Book Club: Book&," a signature event of the Seocho Book Street program, at the main auditorium of the Seocho-gu District Office on Saturday.
The event is designed to gather avid readers, book club members and library patrons in one place to share their reading experiences from the past year and help spread a culture of reading together.
The highlight of the program is a book talk with author Choi Eun-young, whose novels — including "Bright Night" and "In Front of a Blank Page" — have won a devoted readership. Hosted by "Editor K," a book-focused content creator and literary editor, the session will explore the stories behind Choi's works and the meaning of reading, followed by a Q&A with the audience and a book-signing.
A "Seocho Family Reading Awards" ceremony will also be held to encourage a family reading culture. The district selected 28 households that recorded the highest book-borrowing numbers at its public libraries this year and will present each with a certificate of recognition. The winning families will also receive an expanded borrowing limit — up to 10 books at a time, double the standard five — for one year.
A performance blending books and music rounds out the program. The Baek Chan-young Trio, part of the "Youth Artists in Concert" outreach series, will perform jazz featuring harmonica and guitar.
Hands-on activities offer residents a chance to participate directly. A mobile library called "The Traveling Study" will provide borrowing and returns of bestselling titles as well as library membership registration. A pop-up workshop on binding personal reading journals will let visitors create their own record books and experience the pleasure of reading and writing.
The celebration of reading culture continues beyond the main event. From Saturday through Wednesday, an exhibition of book club activities will be on display in the lobby of the Seocho-gu District Office. Participating clubs will showcase the books they read together over the year, along with discussion materials and other outputs, and videos related to the Seocho Book Street program will also be screened.
"I hope Book& becomes a place where book lovers can share their reading experiences with one another and forge new connections," Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said. "We will continue to expand everyday reading culture so that families and neighbors can read and communicate together."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
