Suwon Proclaims Vision as 'Reading City'... First Local Government to Join 'Reading Nation' Declaration

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Special City, which has joined the 'Reading Nation' declaration as the first local government, proclaimed its vision as 'Reading City Suwon'.

The vision proclamation ceremony was held on the 30th at the City Hall main conference room with Mayor Lee Jae-jun, City Council Speaker Lee Jae-sik, Councilman Kim Jun-hyeok (Suwon City), Chairman Kim Young-ho of the National Assembly Education Committee, youth, and citizens in attendance.

The vision proclamation ceremony began with opening remarks by Mayor Lee Jae-jun, followed by congratulatory remarks from Kim Young-ho, Chairman of the National Assembly Education Committee, an empathy talk on the theme "Why a Reading City Now?", and recitation of the reading city declaration.

Mayor Lee said in his opening remarks, "To ask sharp questions of artificial intelligence and judge whether the answers that artificial intelligence provides are right or wrong, we need the power of thought," and emphasized that "the way to rapidly develop critical thinking and the power to question is ultimately through reading."

He continued, "We have the responsibility to help future generations think and make judgments on their own in the age of artificial intelligence," and said, "Reading City Suwon will build the foundation for a Reading Nation."

Mayor Lee Jae-jun and representatives of children, youth, citizens, libraries, and schools recited the 'Reading City Declaration' and proclaimed, "We will together create Suwon, Korea's first reading city."

Suwon's children vowed to become happy reading children who grow up with books, and Suwon's youth pledged to grow into citizens preparing their futures through books. Suwon City promised to pursue reading as a future city strategy, and Suwon City Residential Autonomy Council pledged to turn all neighborhoods in Suwon into reading villages with books.

Libraries declared they would become open knowledge spaces connecting books, information, and people, and schools pledged to help students develop the power to explore and discover through books.

The empathy talk included Mayor Lee Jae-jun, parents, authors, and local bookstore representatives discussing the reasons reading is necessary.

After the empathy talk, this year's books for the '2026 Suwon Citizens One Book Together Reading' initiative were announced. Five books were selected as this year's books: "Live Caring for You" (Na Tae-ju), "The Uses of History" (Choi Tae-sung), "Even If Bad Things Happen, It's Not a Bad Day" (Jung Moon-jung), "To the Stars" (Annyeongdal), and "Dongri Jeongsa" (Lee Seong-su).

The Suwon Citizens One Book Together Reading, a citizen-led reading activity, selects this year's books and operates linked programs including performances, lectures, reading programs, and experiences, enabling citizens to read the selected books together and share their thoughts as a civic reading movement.

The city will establish and implement the 'Suwon Reading City Promotion Plan,' focusing on △smart reading with artificial intelligence (AI), △lifelong reading for which Suwon City takes responsibility, and △everyday reading to enjoy anywhere.

The 'Reading Nation' is a project to transform reading education into a national core policy in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. In January, the 'Reading Nation Promotion Committee,' a pan-national coalition to successfully realize the Reading Nation project and spread national consensus, was launched. The Reading Nation Promotion Committee is pursuing projects including pan-national reading campaigns, related legislation and budgeting, and establishing a reading ecosystem foundation.