Taiwan publishers, authors featured at 1st Busan children's book fair

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) Taiwanese children's book authors and publishers were among guests from 13 countries featured at the first edition of the Busan International Children's Book Fair (BICBF), which helped raise the profile of Taiwanese works in the field, according to the Taiwan Book Fair Foundation.

The event, which ran from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, saw the participation of 25 Taiwanese publishers who exhibited about 100 books, the foundation said in a statement on Saturday.

Other participants came from Europe, North America, South America, Japan and China, the foundation said.

Taiwanese illustrator Chiang Meng-yun (蔣孟芸), held the event on the fair's opening day at the Taiwan Pavilion with a workshop attended by fifth and sixth-graders from Busan Overseas Chinese Elementary School, where she shared tips on how to create picture books and guided the pupils through hands-on tasks to create their own illustrations, the foundation said.

On Friday, Taiwanese illustrator Lin Lian-en (林廉恩) also discussed the concepts and creative process of her books "Home" and "A Tree Falls in a Forest" at a workshop. The two illustrators held a joint book-signing event on Saturday, the foundation added.

Also on Friday, the seminar "Coloring Taiwan: The Art of Children's Books and Graphic Narratives" event took place, during which Arni Liu (劉維中), editor-in-chief of Hsin Yi Publications, addressed the rising popularity of South Korean children's books in Taiwan.

Currently, nearly 300 South Korean children's books have been translated into Chinese and are available in Taiwan, behind only Japan and the United Kingdom, Liu said.

Tsai Yu-Ting (蔡玉庭), director of the International Picture Book Center of Kaohsiung Main Public Library, which has the largest collection of children's books in Taiwan, told the seminar that Korean works account for 7 percent of the approximately 160,000 books from 51 countries at the center.

The library often holds events with renowned South Korean authors, for example, comic artist Kang Gyung-Hyo, and has promoted cultural exchanges between Taiwan and South Korea over the years, Tsai noted.

Rex How (郝明義), publisher of Locus Publishing Company, talked about the Books From Taiwan initiative funded by the government-funded public foundation Taiwan Creative Content Agency, which has helped market many Taiwanese books in South Korea.

Following the seminar, a "Happy Hour" event was held where Taiwanese publishers interacted with their international counterparts while drinks were served, which offered an ideal opportunity to promote works from Taiwan, the foundation said.