The Centro Cultural Coreano, in collaboration with the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA), announces the participation of Korea as a Focus Country in the International Book Fair LIBER 2025, which will be held from Tuesday to Thursday 9 October at IFEMA Madrid.
In the framework of Korea Season 2025, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea, the Korean participation will have a stand of almost 100 m2, conceived as a meeting point for professionals, authors, critics, translators and literary agencies. This space will offer a broad view of Korea’s editorial diversity, from the great voices of contemporary narrative to global phenomena such as web novels and the creative power of picture albums.
The program of activities will be attended by six authors of great international projection, representatives of three key genres -narrative, illustrated album and webnovels-, highlighting the vitality of current Korean literature.
The Korean pavilion will be an open space for professional dialogue and literary discovery, representing the first Asian country to have a Nobel Prize winner in literature, and which will dedicate an exclusive space at its stand to the work of Han Kang. This exhibition will invite visitors to delve into the author’s literary universe with a journey through the central themes of her writing, marked by lyricism, philosophical depth and an acute analysis of the human condition.
The narrative genre will welcome authors like Cheon Seon-ran, author of A Thousand Blues, who combines science fiction and humanistic reflection by addressing the ethics and emotions linked to artificial intelligence. Seong Haena, winner of renowned literary awards in Korea, will also participate. His first collection of short stories, Honmono, has become a cultural phenomenon, with more than 200,000 copies sold, by questioning the boundary between the real and the unreal in contemporary life.
The careers of Kim Dong Su and Kang Hyesook have been widely recognized in the world of illustrated albums. Kim Dong Su, recognized for her artistic sensibility and Korean nominee for the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Prize, stands out for illustrations that address children’s concerns and messages of great emotional depth. For her part, Kang Hyesook, winner of the Korea 2025 Picture Album Award and with a strong international track record, incorporates in her works symbols of Korean folklore, such as tigers, to build unique visual narratives.
Another of the Korean genres with great global projection is that of web novels. Seo Sahee, a television series writer who has achieved international fame thanks to his ability to describe emotions and feelings with delicacy. One of his best-known plays, My Beloved Oppressor, was adapted for webtoon and is currently in the process of becoming a television series. Also noteworthy is FLADA, a pioneer of the genre since 2013, whose works -including I Order You, The Prenuptial Agreement and A Girl Like Me- have made the leap from digital to printed book format, thus consolidating the global expansion of Korean web novels.
The six Korean authors will participate in a full agenda in Madrid, which will include their presence in LIBER, as well as meetings with students of East Asian Studies at Universidad Complutense, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and UDIT. In addition, activities aimed at children will be held at the Reggio School. The general public will also be able to attend two open meetings that will bring contemporary Korean literature together in a space of cultural dialogue.
Activities for the public in Madrid
7 October – K-Story Night (Sala Equis, 18h 30)
An evening where Korean literature and music intertwine. Soprano Yerim Jung will open the event with pieces inspired by literary culture. Next, illustrator Kim Dong Su will share with the public her creative universe, where image and word dialogue to excite and inspire. Subsequently, FLADA and Seo Sahee will talk with Ainhoa Urquia Asensio, expert in Korean literature, about the representation of emotions in digital literature. The day will end with a space of dialogue open to the public, accompanied by a catering. Free entry with prior reservation on Eventbrite.
8 October – Meeting with Cheon Seon-ran (Cervantes Bookshop and Company, 19 h)
Cheon Seon-ran will talk with the journalist and author of El País, Margaryta Yakovenko (Crazy) about science fiction, technology and the condition of beings in a context of constant technological and social change. The session will include signing of copies in English available at the bookstore. Free entry until capacity is full. Free entry until capacity is complete.
Activities for professionals in LIBER
For professionals in the publishing sector who attend LIBER, meetings have been organized that highlight the diversity, dynamism and international relevance of contemporary Korean literature.
October 7 – Narrar: a way of measuring time to understand the human being (Stand Foco Corea, 16 h)
The literary critic Cho Daehan invites us to discover how stories -poems, novels, illustrated albums or series- help us better understand the human being, broadening our gaze and revealing its nuances.
8 October – The Many Faces of Love and Relationships (Ágora Liber, 11 h)
This debate will bring together three key voices: Seong Haena (narrative), Kang Hyesook (illustrated album) and Seo Sahee (webnovel) will talk together about how the theme of love gives rise to diverse stories, and explore the boundaries in merging literary genres.
October 8 – Meeting with Kang Hyesook (Stand Focus Korea, 13 h)
The author will share how traditional Korean tales come to life through her illustrated albums, in which she fuses folklore symbols with a visual language that awakens the imagination.
October 9 – On the border between the real and the fantastic (Stand Focus Korea, 11 h)
Cheon Seon-ran and FLADA will star in a dialogue around science fiction and web romance novels, showing how stories born from real experiences reach their maximum strength as they delve into the unreal and fantastic.