The charm of Paju Literary City, South Korea

Paju, South Korea, a satellite city 35 kilometers northwest of Seoul, is small, with a population of about half a million. The streets are quieter than those of the bustling Capital, the air is cleaner and the pace of life is slightly slower.

Although many people know the city for its military base, Paju is also home to the country's book publishing center, officially known as Paju National Industrial, Cultural and Publishing Park, but commonly called Paju Literary City.

Around 900 book-related businesses, such as printing presses, distribution companies and design studios, line the streets, and signs reading “Paju Literary City” are everywhere.

The Government inaugurated the publishing center in 1998, after almost a decade of planning and as part of an overall effort to modernize the nation.

South Korea's book industry used to be dispersed, but “the founders of the literary city thought this dispersed and decentralized way of creating books was inefficient,” said Lee Sang-yeon, manager of one of South Korea's main cultural facilities. Paju, the Asia Publishing Information and Culture Center.

By bringing book companies together in one place, South Korea hoped to better produce and distribute an important part of its culture.

Books are big business in South Korea. Last year, more than 115 million books were sold nationwide, the Korea Publishers Association reported.

The Literary City mission—“to actively support book-based arts and culture”—can be seen on buildings throughout the City.

Photopia, a serene purple structure, curved like an ocean wave, serves as a photo production and processing studio. One publishing house, Dulnyouk, is headquartered in an imposing geometric structure that resembles a transport vehicle found in “Star Wars.”

Lee works at the heart of Paju Literary City, the Asian Publications Information and Culture Center, a five-story complex that includes an educational center, an event hall and an exhibition space, and serves as a social and professional hub for local editors. The center attracts almost 10 thousand visitors a year.

On the first floor of the building is the Forest of Wisdom, a central library with tens of thousands of copies on display and tens of thousands more in storage, Lee said.

Gigantic shelves, some almost 8 meters high, cover the walls. Although visitors are not allowed to check out books, they are welcome to browse the shelves and read in the common areas. The seemingly limitless collection means guests include families with children, young couples on dates and groups of older people on social outings. The center includes a hotel for those who want to spend the night.

The publishing center also preserves ancient texts and the practice of typography. The Literary City Typography Museum, next to the center's main building, has traditional printing equipment in its collection, including 35 million metal type blocks.

As expected, schools love visiting Paju. On a Friday afternoon last month, first graders in matching school uniforms read along a flight of stairs, some sitting in pairs, others alone.

Every fall, the center hosts a book festival that brings together literature lovers, authors and local artists. This year's event, the twelfth annual edition, included art exhibits, live music, a typing competition, and, of course, ample opportunity to delight in literary culture.

“Even as the world becomes more digital, the charm of books is never lost on readers,” Lee said.

By: JIN YU YOUNG