The 2026 Seoul International Book Fair opened Wednesday at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul to explore humanity's future amid artificial intelligence [1, 2].
The event arrives as the publishing industry faces disruption from generative AI, short-form video culture, and social media. Organizers aim to determine how humans should move forward while maintaining the relevance of traditional books in a digital-first landscape [2, 3].
The fair features a variety of authors and publishers gathered to discuss the tension between human creativity and machine learning. Notable participants at the event include French writer Bernard Werber and Kim Hea‑kyung, the wife of President Lee Jae‑Myung [1, 2].
By focusing on the question of how humans should navigate the age of AI, the fair seeks to redefine the purpose of reading and writing. The programming highlights the unique capacity of humans to question and reflect, skills that organizers said remain distinct from algorithmic processing [2, 3].
The COEX center serves as the hub for these discussions, bringing together international literary figures to address the shifting nature of intellectual property and storytelling. The event emphasizes that while AI can generate text, the human experience remains the core of literary value [1, 2].
“The 2026 Seoul International Book Fair opened with a theme exploring humanity’s future in the age of artificial intelligence.”
The focus of the 2026 fair reflects a broader global anxiety within the creative arts regarding the displacement of human authors by AI. By positioning the book fair as a space for 'the human who questions,' organizers are attempting to pivot the value of literature from information delivery to a tool for critical thinking and existential inquiry.
