Int'l writers' festival to kick off in Seoul next month

An annual literary festival featuring writers from both Korea and abroad will commence next month in Seoul, organizers announced on Monday. The event will explore the intersection of human values and literature in the context of the growing influence of artificial intelligence technology. The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) confirmed that 24 prominent writers will participate in the festival, which will take place at the Ara Art Center in central Seoul from September 11-16.

The festival's theme, "Who Are We," will guide 20 programs, including author talks, graphic novel artists, translators, and readers. Sessions will be held through both online and in-person formats. Notable Korean writer Kim Ae-ran and Chilean novelist Benjamin Labatut will kick off the event with the opening session titled "We Are Someone."

Additionally, Korean writers Lee Seung-u, Moon Ji-hyuck, and Yeh So-yeon, Taiwanese novelist Chen Xue, Canadian poet Emily Jungmin Yoon, and Japanese novelist Keiichiro Hirano are also set to attend the gathering, according to the organizers.