Welcome to FilBo! National and Korean film series, presidential debates and some of the guests at the Bogotá literary fair

The Corferias pavilions are empty; the auditoriums too, and the corridors that surround the entrances of the venue are walked by very few people; but all these places will be packed with exhibitors, stands, authors and, above all, books. A lot of books.

Bogotá opens the doors to a new edition of the International Book Fair and South Korea, the guest of honor this year. After two years of the literary festival marked by virtuality, he returns to face-to-face under the slogan 'Come back to get you back'; students, academics, film buffs, writers and literature enthusiasts will gather in the same venue that has hosted the most important cultural festival in the country since 1988.

According to the Minister Counsellor of Korea, Sun Tae Park, the connection between both countries has been such that even he feels “half Colombian”, and that is why his country's invitation to FilBo has a special ingredient not only for them, but for Colombia, because at the next Seoul Book Fair, this nation will be the center of attention; a fact that confirms the good relationship between both parties and that the Minister himself emphasizes by recalling the Colombian support for the war waged in his homeland.

“I greatly appreciate Korea's participation as the guest of honor in such an important event for Colombia, as well as Colombia's participation as a special guest of honor at the Seoul Book Fair in the coming months. I am sure that these events will be an opportunity to capitalize on our relationship and deep understanding on both sides,” said the diplomat with a Spaniard worthy of applauding; but how can he not learn the language, if much of his studies were done in the same city that hosts FilBo.

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Authors such as Eun Heekyung, Han Kang (virtual), Kim Kyung-uk and Lee Moon-jae will come together in one place to show Colombia a small part of the cultural work done in the Asian country. The fair will not disappoint moviegoers either, as there will be a series of Korean films and there will also be a series of Colombian films.

Emma Jungyoon Cho, director of the Asia-Ibero-American Cultural Foundation and in charge of programming for the guest country, pointed out that one of the elements that South Korea wants to teach in the literary festival is precisely the value of coexistence and how, despite the conflicts experienced in this nation, a culture can be built worthy of being known in the world.

Another attraction of this edition of the fair is the space that will be provided for political conversation: on April 20, a presidential debate will be held that will be organized by El Espectador and moderated by the journalist, Claudia Morales.

According to Angelica Mayolo, head of the cultural portfolio, the development of this event (and other mass events in the country) has been made possible by the National Vaccination Plan, and she stressed that this has allowed a “physical reunion so necessary between authors and their readers that we will have the opportunity to live.

Now, Minister Mayolo did not spare praise when talking about the Library of Colombian Women Writers, which was launched within the framework of International Women's Day and which will be, during FILBo, the great attraction of the cultural portfolio, which she described as one of the “most important that the ministry has done during its 25 years old.”

18 titles “of Colombian women who wrote from Colonia to the 20th century such as Maruja Vieira, such as Teresa Martínez de Varela and María Mercedes Carranza who made Colombian literature great”, will be present at the MinCultura stand during the literary festival. And although there are still more than 10 days before the big launch of the fair, the shelves full of uncovered books and the gatherings of writers such as Santiago Gamboa and Pilar Quintana, who will be back to talk to their readers about the pandemic, the reality of the country and books. A lot of books.

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