The country's oldest and largest book and publishing trade show has fully resumed for the first time in three years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

The Seoul International Book Fair(SIBF) 2022 opened to its pre-pandemic scale on Wednesday at COEX in Seoul's Gangnam District.

In his opening remarks, culture minister Park Bo-gyoon said first-class advanced nations are completed through the power of culture and that books exist at its foundation.

Referring to a number of South Korea's internationally acclaimed writers and award-winning books, the minister indicated that books are at the core of the so-called "K-culture."

The five-day festival takes place under the theme of "One Small Step." Its ambassadors include South Korean writers Kim Young-ha and Eun Hee-kyung, as well as American novelist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead. 

One-hundred-95 publishers from 15 countries are participating in this year's book fair, with 214 writers and speakers leading over 300 lectures and round table discussions.