Korea-China Publishing Conference Marks 30th Anniversary with 24th Joint Session

Publishing scholars from South Korea and China held the 24th Korea-China Publishing Academic Conference to discuss 'The Crisis and Opportunities of the Publishing Industry in the AI Era,' reaching five common conclusions. The conference, co-hosted by the Korean Publishing Society and the China Press and Publication Research Institute, marked its 30th anniversary since its inaugural session in 1996 and was held on June 23rd at the Bisang Education building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Ten publishing scholars from both countries participated, presenting and debating five key topics.

The conference concluded that AI will enhance capabilities rather than cause 'creative destruction' in publishing, and that AI-era publishing policies must evolve into multi-layered governance involving not only governments but also the publishing industry, tech companies, and international organizations.

Scholars agreed that AI will strengthen publishing functions rather than replace them, and that the gatekeeping role of editors will become even more critical in an era of information overload. The consensus was that the gatekeeping role of editors and publishers in filtering reliable content in the age of information deluge will actually be strengthened, and the identity of publishing should shift from 'selling books' to 'selling content products and narrative assets (IP).'

There was a consensus that print books and digital media will coexist rather than compete, and that standardization, labeling, and copyright for AI-generated content will become new core infrastructure.

This conference confirmed that Korean and Chinese publishing scholarship, which has focused on comparisons and differences for the past 30 years, is evolving into a collaborative field tackling shared challenges in the AI era. Both countries agreed to lead innovation and development in the publishing industry through continuous academic exchange and joint research. The conference served as an opportunity to confirm the potential of Korea-China publishing scholarship moving beyond comparison and difference to become a collaborative discipline addressing common issues in the AI era.