SIBF 2025 18-22 June, 2025 l COEX Halls A & B1
Archive
Scandinavian Focus
Scandinavian Focus: Denmark · Norway · Sweden
From design and education to lifestyle, Scandinavian culture has recently been at the center of Korean people’s attention. Scandinavian publications have also been popular in Korea: readers are showing great interest in a Scandinavian novel that sold over 5 million copies worldwide, in the burgeoning genre of “Scandinavian noir,” and in various books capturing the Scandinavian lifestyle. Scandinavian Focus is a program spotlighting the allure of Scandinavian publications, organized to examine how the once-exotic literature and culture have come to knock on the hearts of Korean readers and to provide opportunities to meet Danish, Norwegian and Swedish authors in person and encounter their works. Celebrating 60 years of diplomacy between Korea and the three Scandinavian countries, 2019 Scandinavian Focus will serve as an exchange platform that builds on the amicable relationship.
Poetry Reading by Korean & Swedish Author
Swedish poet Athena Farrokhzad and Korean poet Kim Yi-deum will read each of their works and converse on their artistic oeuvre.
l Speaker: Athena Farrokhzad (Poet, Sweden), Kim Yi-deum (Poet, Korea)
l Moderator: Yang Kyung-eon (Literary Critic)
- Date/Time: June 20 (Thu) 14:00–14:45
- Location: Event Hall 1
Novel Reading by Korean & Swedish Author
Swedish novelist Jonas Hassen Khemiri and Korean novelist Han Kang will read each of their works and converse on their artistic oeuvre.
l Speaker: Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Novelist, Sweden), Han Kang (Novelist, Korea)
l Moderator: Yang Kyung-eon (Literary Critic)
- Date/Time: June 20 (Thu) 15:00–15:45
- Location: Event Hall 1
Cross-Border Science Fiction Talks
Norwegian science fiction writer Torbjørn Øverland Amundsen introduces his course of work and joins Korean science fiction writer Jeong So-yeon in a discussion on science fiction trends in the two countries.
l Speaker: Torbjørn Øverland Amundsen (Writer, Norway), Jeong So-yeon (Chairperson of Science Fiction Writers Union of the Republic of Korea)
l Moderator: Chung Bo-ra (Writer)
- Date/Time: June 21(Fri) 11:30–13:30
- Location: Book Salon
Aesthetics and Politics: The Social Role of Literature
Swedish novelist Jonas Hassen Khemiri and poet Athena Farrokhzad join orean poet Kim Haeng-sook in a discussion on literature and social issues
l Speaker: Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Novelist, Sweden), Athena Farrokhzad (Poet, Sweden), Kim Haeng-sook (Poet, Korea)
l Moderator: Kim Dong-shik (Literary Critic)
- Date/Time: June 22 (Sat) 15:00–16:30
- Location: Event Hall 3
A Faroese Writer’s Little Bit Unfamiliar Story about Children’s Book
The works of Bárður Oskarsson will be introduced for the first time in Korea. He will converse with a Korean picture book author on storybooks that adults can also enjoy.
l Speaker: Bárður Oskarsson (Writer, Faroe Islands), Lee Su-zy (Writer, Korea)
l Moderator: Choi Hye-jin (Writer)
- Date/Time: June 23 (Sun) 11:00–13:00
- Location: Book Salon
The Female Body and Feminism
This session presents healthy ways of understanding the female body and discusses pending issues of feminism
l Speaker: Ellen Støkken Dahl (Medical Doctor and Writer, Norway), Yoon Jung-won (chief OB/GYN, Green Hospital)
- Date/Time: June 23 (Sun) 14:30–16:30
- Location: Event Hall 2
Reading Lounge
The first word that comes to mind when describing the Scandinavian lifestyle is none other than “hygge,” meaning “spending quality leisure time alone or with loved ones.” The 2019 Seoul International Book Fair offers a taste of this lifestyle. Book fairs can be crowded, bustling with programs, lectures, and book lovers, which is why the Reading Lounge is a perfect place to escape to when you need a break from all the passion. Decorated with cozy Scandinavian furniture , the Reading Lounge offers diverse genres of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish publications from design, art, and lifestyle books to children’s books, promising quality leisure time accompanied by quality Scandinavian books.
l Cooperation: Embassy of Denmark in Seoul, Embassy of Norway in Seoul, Embassy of Sweden in Seoul
