(c) Korean Cultural Center in Hungary

The Korean Cultural Center in Hungary (Director Yu Hye-ryung) announced that it participated in the 31st Budapest International Book Fair, held in Budapest, Hungary from October 1 to 4, and hosted various events to promote Korean literature. Notably, Korean representative K-healing literature writers Yoon Jung-eun and Lee Soo-yeon, who were invited to this year's book fair, met with local readers to share stories embedded in their works, confirming the popularity of Korean literature in Eastern Europe.

The Budapest International Book Fair, first held in 1994, is Hungary's largest publishing and cultural event, attracting tens of thousands of publishing professionals and readers every year. The Korean Cultural Center in Hungary has participated in the Budapest International Book Fair for three consecutive years starting in 2024 to introduce Korean literature locally, and this year it also showcased various Korean literature programs with the support of the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA).

During the book fair, the book talks and fan signing sessions by writers Yoon Jung-eun and Lee Soo-yeon drew a lot of attention from local readers and publishing officials even before they began. In particular, in the case of writer Yoon Jung-eun, despite the Hungarian translation of her work being published just a few days before the book talk, the venue was packed with audience members on the day of the event. At the signing session, there were noticeable readers who brought not only the translated version but also the original Korean books to request autographs, making people truly feel the heightened popularity of Korean literature locally.

Meanwhile, writers Yoon Jung-eun and Lee Soo-yeon held a dialogue on their works for students of the Department of Korean Studies at ELTE National University, and also met with representatives of "Europa Konyvkiado" (Europa Publishing), the local publishing house that translated and published the two writers' works in Hungarian. Europa Publishing is a representative literary publishing house that has introduced world literature and outstanding foreign authors' works to Hungary. The two writers met with Peter Biro of Europa Publishing to exchange views on the current status and future outlook of Korean literature in the Hungarian publishing market. Europa announced plans to translate and publish writer Yoon Jung-eun's sequel works, "Marigold Mind Photography Studio" and "Marigold Mind Botanical Garden," following "Marigold Mind Laundry," in Hungarian from late this year through early next year.

Peter Biro of Europa Publishing evaluated, "Hungarian readers are deeply sympathizing with the warm sentiment and detailed message of comfort that Korean literature currently conveys," adding, "K-healing literature is establishing itself as a major literary genre in the Hungarian publishing market beyond a temporary trend."

Cultural Center Director Yu Hye-ryung stated, "The recent increase in local translation and publication of Korean works, centered around healing literature, shows that the international profile of Korean literature is rising," and added, "We will continue to prepare various opportunities, including participation in book fairs, so that local readers can widely experience excellent Korean literature works."

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