The Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) will be held from June 18th to 22nd , 2025, marking a significant moment as Taiwan is invited for the first time to serve as the Guest of Honor, ushering a new chapter in Taiwan–Korea cultural exchange. Under the coordination of the Academia Sinica Press, Academia Sinica will make its debut appearance at the fair, showcasing ten selected academic publications and contributing to a major milestone in international scholarly publishing.
Founded in 1954, SIBF is the largest book fair in South Korea. By integrating publishing, art, and cross-disciplinary cultural elements, it has become one of Asia’s most important platforms for cultural and publishing exchange. This year’s Taiwan Guest of Honor Pavilion (Taiwan Pavilion) is organized by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and executed by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation, under the theme “Taiwan Sensibility”, which aims to highlight the richness and diversity of Taiwanese culture. Academia Sinica will present ten scholarly titles covering oral history, East Asian thought and culture, modern Chinese history, ethnology, artificial intelligence, and community care, showcasing the wide-ranging research achievements of Taiwan’s academic community.
In the field of oral history, Academia Sinica presents two interview-based volumes centered on lived experiences in Taiwan, focusing respectively on women’s perspectives and Cold War memories. Things about Women: Life Stories of Elderly Females in Taiwan captures the personal stories of six elderly women through interviews conducted in Taiwanese Hokkien, shedding light on an underexplored area in Taiwan’s historical scholarship—women’s history. Studying Taiwan Before Taiwan Studies: American Anthropologists in Cold War Taiwan reconstructs the formation of Taiwan as a research site through the personal accounts of foreign anthropologists, offering a reflective view on knowledge production during the Cold War.
The dynamic cultural interactions among China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam are explored in the following three volumes: East Asian Confucianism and Classical Interpretation: The Development of Confucianism in Korea and Vietnam, Collected Essays on Japanese Research of Korean Confucianism, and Aspects of Shijing Studies in the Meiji and Taisho Periods. These titles investigate how East Asian scholars have interpreted Confucianism and classical texts, offering comparative insights into the shared and divergent perspectives across the Sinographic cultural sphere.
In modern Chinese history, The Making of the Enlightenment, The Making of a Movement: A Conceptual History of the Enlightenment in Modern China adopts perspectives from conceptual and global history to clarify the unique national and historical characteristics of China’s Enlightenment movement. War, Institutions and Thought: The Rise of the General Staff in Modern China traces the transformation of Chinese military institutions from traditional to modern structures, while also exploring the global circulation and transplantation of Western military thought into the Chinese context.
In the realm of cultural and historical preservation, The Dongba Classics of the Nakhi Peoples: Complete Translation of Selected Volumes in the Collection of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica presents annotated translations of ten Dongba manuscripts, revealing the spiritual beliefs and worldview of the Nakhi people, one of China’s ethnic minorities.
Focusing on contemporary issues, Human Wisdom in the Age of AI features contributions from fourteen Academia Sinica scholars who explore the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The Imagination of Community, the Imagined Community addresses care issues in aging societies and proposes actionable policy recommendations based on Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system and international best practices.
Through its participation in the Seoul International Book Fair, Academia Sinica not only showcases the depth and breadth of academic research in Taiwan, but also actively fosters dialogue with the global publishing community. All ten featured titles will be displayed at the Taiwan Pavilion. We warmly invite you to join us to experience the vibrant academic pulse of Academia Sinica and to witness a new chapter in Taiwan–Korea cultural exchange.
Seoul International Book Fair (Taiwan Pavilion)
Date: June 18- June 22, 2025
Venue: COEX Convention & Exhibition Center
Taiwan Pavilion (Hall A, A1)
Organized by: Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)
Co-organized by: Taipei Book Fair Foundation
