Sang Young Park joins the program as Kapyong 1951 makes its debut on the battle’s 75th anniversary
The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver will hold the inaugural Vancouver Korean Book Festival in October to mark Korean Heritage Month in British Columbia. Events will take place throughout the month at Granville Island, the Vancouver Public Library and other cultural venues across the city.
The 2026 Vancouver Korean Book Festival will be the city’s first comprehensive festival devoted to Korean books and storytelling. Its program brings together literature, graphic novels, author talks, film screenings, live drawing and theatrical readings, extending interest in K-culture beyond music, television, film and food to the language, history and ideas at its foundation.
Author conversations, student-led exhibition tours, advance book clubs and creative workshops will give visitors opportunities to engage directly with writers and artists. The participatory format is intended to make Korean literature and visual storytelling accessible to readers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
In October 2025, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia designated October as Korean Heritage Month, formally recognizing the historical, social, economic and cultural contributions of Korean Canadians. British Columbia is home to Canada’s second-largest Korean community, with more than 72,000 people of Korean descent contributing to the province’s diverse social fabric.
Graphic novels explore history, community and belonging
At the center of the festival is Jari, a special exhibition of Korean graphic novels running from Oct. 5 to 31 at an exhibition space on Granville Island. It will feature Jessie’s Story by Park Kun-woong, Soyo: Uprising by Kim Hong-mo and The Story of Greg by Park Ju-hyun.
Organized around the themes “A Place in History,” “A Place Together” and “A Place in the Heart,” the exhibition examines how individual lives are situated within history and community. Students from the University of British Columbia will serve as docents, providing visitors with background on the works and their social contexts.
The three artists will also present new short comics interpreting the idea of jari, a Korean word referring to a place, position or space of belonging. The works will be available on the festival’s official website, while visitors who share their own reflections on the theme will have an opportunity to receive a specially produced Jari anthology.
A live drawing show will give audiences a close look at the artists’ techniques and creative processes. Lectures, author talks and performances featuring invited writers from Korea will follow on Oct. 15 and 16.
Sang Young Park, whose novel Love in the Big City has attracted international attention, will be among the featured authors. Organized in cooperation with UBC’s Korean language program and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, his visit will connect advance book clubs with a film screening and two in-depth author talks.
The film screening will take place at the Revue Stage on Oct. 9. Park will meet readers at the Revue Stage on Oct. 15 and the Vancouver Public Library on Oct. 16, allowing audiences to explore the story through its novel, screen adaptation and conversations with the author.
From the Battle of Kapyong to the women divers of Jeju
The festival will host the first presentation of Kapyong 1951, a graphic novel commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong. Initiated by the Korean Consulate General in Vancouver and created by Park Kun-woong, the book is based on the memoir of the late Major Hub Gray, a Canadian veteran who fought in the battle.
The Battle of Kapyong, in which Canadian and other Commonwealth forces fought during the Korean War, remains an important symbol of the historical relationship between Korea and Canada. By retelling those events through graphic art, Kapyong 1951 seeks to make this shared history more accessible to younger generations. Its launch will be accompanied by an author talk and a caricature signing session with Park.
Another program will examine the nature, history and community life of Jeju Island. Graphic novelist Kim Hong-mo and poet Heo Eun-sil will discuss the island through the lives of the haenyeo, or female divers of Jeju, whose culture is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
International interest in Jeju has grown alongside the popularity of Korean television series and films set on the island. The discussion will look beyond its scenery to the labor, memories and intergenerational community represented by the haenyeo.
Park Ju-hyun will lead a silkscreen postcard workshop based on Greg, the chick character from The Story of Greg. Participants will create their own prints while experiencing part of the visual process behind graphic storytelling.
The festival will also present K-Story Hunters, an interactive sound-reading performance organized by the Korea-Canada Cultural Industry Exchange Foundation with support from the Overseas Koreans Agency. Korean voice actors Seo Hye-jung and Choi Deok-hee will bring myths, folk songs, children’s literature, poetry and fiction to the stage.
The performance will highlight the rhythm, texture and resonance of spoken Korean—qualities that cannot always be fully conveyed through translation. It is designed to offer audiences, including those who do not speak Korean, an emotional and musical encounter with the language.
Advance book clubs will help readers prepare for the author events. Korean- and English-language sessions on Love in the Big City will be held at Nurungji Books on Granville Island and on the UBC campus.
A separate book club at the Korean credit union’s conference room will discuss Jessie’s Diary, the original work behind the graphic novel Jessie’s Story. UBC professor Choi Ho-jung and writer Lee Yu-min will lead the sessions, with discussions continuing through the festival’s exhibition and author programs.
Consul General Lee Kwang-suk said Korean culture and storytelling have become a bridge connecting communities within Canada’s multicultural society.
“Literature is a mirror that reflects a country’s philosophy and history, as well as the fertile soil from which culture and art grow,” Lee said. “Through the graphic novel exhibition, guest author talks and community book clubs, we hope readers, writers and our neighbors will connect through books and art and embark on a meaningful journey toward deeper mutual understanding.”
Tom Lancaster, CEO of Granville Island, welcomed the opportunity to introduce more Korean cultural content at one of Vancouver’s best-known arts destinations.
“We have not had enough opportunities to experience Korea’s outstanding cultural content on Granville Island,” Lancaster said. “We hope this festival will expand the presence of Korean culture here and help build a long-term partnership with the Korean community.”
The festival brings together the Consulate General, local cultural institutions, UBC, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, community bookstores and Korean Canadian organizations. Their collaboration could help establish the Vancouver Korean Book Festival as a recurring platform for presenting Korean literature and visual storytelling to North American audiences.
Detailed schedules and advance registration information are available through the festival’s official website and promotional materials.
