Publishing and content companies from 31 countries around the world have gathered in Korea to expand the global market for ‘K-Books.’
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea announced that the ‘2026 K-Book Copyright Market’ will be held from June 22 to 24 at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
Now in its 8th year, this event is the largest B2B consultation fair for publishing and content companies in Korea, designed to support the export of Korean publishing content and the expansion of intellectual property (IP) overseas.
During the event, 1-on-1 export consultations, expert consulting, and networking programs between domestic and international participating companies will take place. Interpreters for each language region will be provided to overseas participants to help achieve tangible contract results. As a pre-event program, investment attraction sessions (IR pitching) and overseas seminars were conducted online, allowing the on-site event to focus entirely on export consultations.
In this year's event, 100 overseas companies from 31 countries will participate, conducting approximately 1,850 customized export consultations with 100 domestic companies. Last year, the event achieved its highest performance ever, with 1,708 consultations and a consultation value of approximately $86.2 million, which led to actual overseas copyright contracts.
Notably, this year, major English-language publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Hachette, as well as global publishers including Shogakukan and Gakken (Japan), Rizzoli (Italy), Albin Michel (France), and Eksmo (Russia), are participating in large numbers. New countries such as Guatemala, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Lebanon have also joined, raising expectations for market diversification.
Participating companies are distributed across all continents, including Asia/Oceania, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East/Africa, with particular attention focused on the potential for exploring new markets through expanded European participation.
In addition to traditional publishers and agencies, broadcasting companies, OTT (Over-the-Top) platforms, webtoon/webnovel platforms, and content production companies are participating in this event, expected to broaden the possibilities for secondary K-Book content business. The scope of consultations is also expanding from literature and children’s books to non-fiction, comics, and digital publishing.
On the final day of the event, overseas participants will visit the Seoul International Book Fair to explore further collaboration opportunities with domestic publishers.
Kim Jae-hyun, Director-General of the Culture and Media Industry Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “The international status of K-Books, the foundation of K-Content, is rising. We hope this event will lead to tangible export results and expand into various content such as movies and dramas.” He added, “We will continue to actively support the overseas advancement and market expansion of K-Books through tailored support by continent and field.”
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