The 2026 Mapo Book Festival comes to the outdoor plaza of Mapo Central Library on Saturday, running from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with outdoor reading, lectures by notable figures, a jazz performance and a lifelong-learning showcase
Mapo-gu will host the 2026 Mapo Book Festival at the outdoor plaza of Mapo Central Library on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Held under the theme "Deepening Autumn: A Bookcnic at the Library," the festival brings together Mapo-gu's public libraries, local bookshops and guest speakers for a full day of book recommendations, hands-on activities, exhibitions, lectures and performances.
The outdoor plaza will be transformed into an open-air library, with more than 100 seats and over 1,000 books on hand so visitors can read at a leisurely pace, as if on a picnic in the middle of the city.
Individual libraries across the district will also run their own programs. Seogang Library and Purume Children's Library will offer "Travel Yaho! Follow Your Taste, Follow the Books," a travel-preference quiz paired with personalized book recommendations. Choroksum, Boksagol and Green Pine Tree small libraries will host an autumn picture-book exhibition and a bookmark-making workshop using pressed-leaf stickers.
Kkumiruneun, Areumdri and Seongsan Geulmaru small libraries will present a calligraphy poetry exhibition and a coloring activity, while Seongme, Yonggang-dong and Haeoeum small libraries will display traditional Korean books. Mapo and Kkumnarae children's English libraries will run "K-Story," a reading session led by a Korean-American picture-book author.
Seven sales booths run by local bookshops will let visitors browse and buy titles that reflect each shop's own character and atmosphere. The booths are expected to give residents a chance to discover a wider range of books while helping neighborhood booksellers reach new customers.
The lecture and performance lineup is equally varied. Professor Kim Dae-sik will open the day at 11 a.m. with a talk titled "In the Age of AI, What Should Humans Learn and How Should We Live?" At 5 p.m., docent Lee Chang-yong will speak on "Life's Consolation in Color: Vincent van Gogh," sharing stories and reflections drawn from the painter's works.
A "Jazz & Book" concert will take the stage at 3:30 p.m., featuring Disney and Studio Ghibli animation themes alongside jazz standards and popular songs — a family-friendly set designed to capture the mood of autumn.
The festival will also include a lifelong-learning showcase, giving residents a chance to share and celebrate what they have studied and practiced over the past year.
From Sunday through Tuesday, the outdoor library will move to the plaza of Mapo Art Center and continue for three days. Programming there will include a book curation spotlight on webtoons, web novels and graphic novels, a quiet reading zone for those who want to sit with a book undisturbed, and a book talk featuring three authors — among them Seo I-re, the creator of the webtoon "Jeongnyon-i."
Further details are available on the Mapo Central Library website.
Mapo-gu District Mayor Yoo Dong-kyun said he hoped every resident would come out to enjoy the pleasures of reading and the ease of autumn at a festival where books, music and learning come together. "We will continue to create opportunities for people to experience books and culture up close," he said.
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