Seoul Int'l Book Fair to explore vision of better future through 'Gulliver's Travels'

Writer Kim Yeon-su speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, for this year's Seoul International Book Fair, where his "rewritten" version of Jonathan Swift's 1726 "Gulliver’s Travels" will debut. Yonhap Fair commences without government financial support due to disputes with culture ministry By Park Han-sol To get a glimpse of this year’s Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), the largest annual book and publishing trade show in Korea, one needs to start by picking up a classic: Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical novel “Gulliver’s Travels.” Turning the pages to the book’s lesser-known Part 4 reveals Gulliver’s journey to the Land of Houyhnhnms, a utopian society populated by rational, talking horses and savage humanoids called Yahoos.

A poster for the Seoul International Book Fair 2024, running under the theme of "Houyhnhnm" / Courtesy of Korean Publishers Association The fair’s upcoming edition, running from June 26 t0 30 at COEX in southern Seoul, embraces the theme of “Houyhnhnm” to explore the vision of a peaceful future free from human-caused suffering. “Inspired by Swift, who pondered and criticized the corrupt state of 18th-century English society by imagining a fictional land of rational beings, we wanted to share this moment of reflection with readers today,” SIBF Director Joo I-roo said at a press conference, Wednesday. Book lovers from across the country are expected to flock to the five-day event to attend a string of lectures, talks and e.