Tomorrow, the southwestern Gwangju Metropolitan Area will launch its 13th reading marathon. (Image: Gwangju Book Reading Marathon website)
GWANGJU, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Tomorrow, the southwestern Gwangju Metropolitan Area will launch its 13th reading marathon. Open to all participants, the “finish line” has been marked as November 6. The seven-month marathon will be divided into seven segments in order of increased difficulty: the turtle (3km), the crocodile (5km), the rabbit (10km), the ostrich (15km), the lion (21.097km), the tiger (31.646km) and the laurel wreath (42.195km).
To make it past the turtle round and traverse each stage, the participants will need to take their reading seriously, as one thousand pages read counts as 1km advanced. Daily logs will have to be kept to track reading progress.
For those who complete the marathon or arrive at their predetermined goal, commemorative certificates are issued based on the reading amount noted in the daily logs. K-12 students can record their performance in their official school record, which includes grades as well as information on extracurricular activities, physical growth, etc.
First started in 2006, the reading marathon draws in around 70,000 participants every year. Similar “competitions” inspired by the original have been adopted in Jeju, Jeonju and in Gyeonggi Province.
Last year, 30,861 of 64,131 total participants reached the reading target that they had set for themselves.
A poster advertising a reading marathon taking place in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. (Image: Yonhap)
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
