South Korea's largest annual international book fair opened Wednesday at the COEX Center in southern Seoul for a five-day run.

About 570 publishing companies from 23 countries, including South Korea, France and Germany are participating in the 17th Seoul International Book Fair. Books of various genres, including culture, arts and philosophy are on display.

This year’s fair also includes an exhibition of South Korea’s cultural heritages as this year saw the return of royal Korean books that French troops looted from Ganghwa Island in 1866.

The exhibition also comes as a Joseon Dynasty document titled, “Ilseongrok,” and records on the May 18th Gwangju Pro-democracy Movement were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

The book fair also set up a booth where visitors will be able to check out some 600 electronic books using 70 different smartphones and tablets.