SEOUL, KOREA - President Madame Park Geun-hye of South Korea toured the Indian pavilion at the Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) today.
2. India is participating as the ‘Guest of Honour’ at SIBF for the first time. A custom fabricated 1000 sq. meter pavilion, has been designed and established for the purpose. 26 Indian publishers have displayed a wide range of books. India’s participation is being led by the National Book Trust (NBT) which has interalia especially translated 10 children’s books in Korean, for the young readers in this country. Minister of State (MOS) for Human Resource Development Hon’ble Jitin Prasada is heading the Indian delegation.
3. India’s participation at the SIBF assumes added significance as 2013 is being celebrated as the 40th anniversary year of establishment of India – Korea diplomatic ties. The Indian pavilion features a huge replica of the famous Sanchi Stupa and other artifacts. It has sections devoted to Indian noble laureates, works of Tagore and Gandhi, centenary of Indian cinema, children’s books, Indian literature and other titles.
4. President Park toured a number of sections, spending close to 10 minutes at the Indian pavilion. It was followed by a brief interaction when MOS Mr. Prasada conveyed greetings of the Prime Minister of India and thanked the Korean President for gracing the Indian pavilion with her visit.
5. The Indian pavilion was later formally inaugurated by MOS along with Ambassador Vishnu Prakash and Chairman of NBT Mr. A Sethumadhavan. A cultural programme, arranged by the Indian Cultural Centre at Seoul followed, which will be repeated periodically. The Fair will run till 23 June. Discussions are already underway between Indian and Korean publishers to translate a number of Indian books into Korean for publication in this country.
