Seoul International Book Fair 2026 to Explore Humanity and Creativity in the Age of AI

Seoul International Book Fair 2026 will explore humanity, creativity, and literature in the AI era through global authors, talks, exhibitions, and debates.

on May 26, 2026

Seoul International Book Fair 2026 Explores Humanity’s Future in the Age of AI

The Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) 2026 will be back again next month with an interesting theme highlighting humanity's future in the era of artificial intelligence.

The 68th SIBF, the largest literary festival in South Korea, is planned to take place between June 24 and June 28, 2026, at Coex in southern Seoul. This year, many authors, artists, thinkers and readers will come from all over the world to ponder about how literature and creativity of humans develop despite artificial intelligence.

"Homo Duduri: A New Name for the Questioning Human" is this year's theme, which comes from an ancient Korean word meaning "blacksmith." It represents individuals who constantly wonder and imagine about the issues in the technological age.

As per the Korean Publishers Association, the theme represents people who look forward to meaningful contemplation rather than using immediate answers provided by AI systems only.

There will be participation from over 530 literary publishers, literary agencies, and literary organizations representing 18 countries in total. The visitors may attend exhibitions, lectures, author sessions, workshops, book-signing events and other literary activities at the five-day literary festival.

This year, France has been selected as the Guest of Honor as both South Korea and France mark the 140th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. There will be a series of “Reading France” events that will highlight the literature and culture of France by means of discussions with well-known French novelists and cultural creators such as Bernard Werber (novelist), Pascal Bruckner (philosopher), and Anne Laval (illustrator).

Discussions on literature and artificial intelligence will be held from various perspectives during this event. Korean writers, including Eun Hee-kyung, Kim Ae-ran, Bora Chung, and poet Hwang In-chan will take part in the keynote speeches on topics ranging from creativity to the writer’s role in the digital age.

Apart from literature, there will be speakers representing science, films, music, and digital culture. Among those taking part in the discussion, neuroscientist Chang Dong-seon, actor Kim Shin-rock, musician Sung Ki-wan, and film composer Dalpalan have been mentioned.

The international guests at the festival consist of Korean American writers Silvia Park and R.O. Kwon, as well as the Taiwanese author Kevin Chen and director Chan Wai.

There are also sessions planned in which readers will get the opportunity to engage personally with their favorite authors, creatives, and even public personalities.

Last year's festival witnessed an enormous response from the general public, as evidenced by the fact that all the 150,000 tickets were sold in the early bird phase itself.