The Literature Translation Institute of Korea will hold the 2026 Seoul International Writers’ Festival at Ara Art Center in Jongno District, Seoul, from September 11 to 16. The festival will take place both online and in person.
This year’s theme is “Who Are We?” The festival expands an everyday question addressed to another person into a discussion about the identities of individuals and communities.
Its programs will examine what it means to be human and the role of literature at a time when artificial intelligence and nonhuman entities have become subjects of public discussion.
A total of 24 writers—14 from Korea and 10 from other countries—will participate. More than 20 programs are scheduled, including one-on-one conversations between Korean and international writers, discussions involving writers and translators, and audience workshops.
Korean novelist Kim Ae-ran and Chilean writer Benjamín Labatut will take part in the opening conversation titled “I Am Human.” They will discuss what makes people human and how literature represents human existence and identity.
The international lineup also includes South African novelist Damon Galgut, Japanese novelist Keiichiro Hirano, Canadian writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia and German poet Uljana Wolf.
Korean novelist Lee Hee-joo and American writer John Langan, who participated in a crime fiction festival in Lyon, France, in April, will meet again in Seoul.
Picture-book artists Beatrice Alemagna and Kim Hyo-eun will discuss imagination and modes of expression in picture books. Graphic novelists Zhou Jianxin and Park Kun-woong will examine how the medium conveys history and memory.
A separate session will bring together novelist Moon Ji-hyuk and translator Paige Morris. They will discuss how Korean literary works reach readers in other languages through translation.
Audience programs will include a poetry-reading audiobook workshop and live drawing sessions.
LTI Korea President Jeon Soo-yong said the theme raises questions about human existence and creativity in the age of artificial intelligence. He added that the festival is intended to provide writers and readers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds with an opportunity to consider the meaning of being human through literature.
All programs are free. Advance reservations opened on August 10 through the festival’s official website and Naver Booking.
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Kang In sig insig6622@naver.com
