South Korea on Thursday took part in the 2019 Gothenburg Book Fair as the guest of honor, providing the Nordic audience a rare glimpse into its literature and culture.

The four-day annual book fair, the largest cultural event in Scandinavia, opened in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, earlier in the day, with some 85,000 people from about 40 nations joining at an 11,000-square-meter exhibition center.

This year's book fair presents three themes -- "South Korea-Guest of Honor," "Gender Equality" and "Media and Information Literacy."

South Korea hosts a slew of events that include exhibitions, seminars and talks with Korean writers under the theme of "Human and Humanity."

The 171-square-meter Korean Pavilion displays 131 kinds of books, with 77 of them related to several sub-themes, including "The Human Condition in Korean Society," "Social-Historical Public Trauma," "Feminism In Korean Literature and Its Future" and "Peace on the Korean Peninsula and the Future of Humanity."

Fifty-four kinds of popular Korean picture books are also being exhibited.

Nine Korean poets and novelists, including Han Kang, the winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, are scheduled to have talks with Swedish writers and journalists.

Subsidiary events include cooking and introducing Korean food.

Five Korean films, including the award-winning "Burning" by Lee Chang-dong and "The Handmaiden" by Park Chan-wook, and a documentary will also be screened at Bio Roy, a theater in Gothenburg from Sept. 27-29.

The book fair also marks the 60th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Sweden this year. (Yonhap)