Paju Book City, home to some 260 local publishing houses in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, won a prestigious book award in the United Arab Emirates last month.

The Korean book town won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, one of the most prestigious book-themed awards in the Arab world, for its “contribution to technology in the field of culture.” The book city won 225 million won in prize money.

The award was established in 2006 in commemoration of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who served as the president of the UAE for 30 years from 1971 to 2004. The award ceremony has been held in Abu Dhabi since 2007, during the annual Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

Founded in 1989, Paju Book City currently holds a variety of book-themed events, including an annual book fair, writing forums and seminars for local and foreign scholars.

The city is currently going through a transformation phase, as some 100 film production houses and movie-related organizations are scheduled to make Paju their home by 2015. The city aims to become a culturally-rich place where books and movies can be produced and celebrated together.

“This honor certainly encourages our current project to establish the town as a place that’s both media and book-friendly,” said Yi Ki-ung, chairman of the Book Culture Foundation who received the honor in Abu Dhabi on March 29.

“We plan to use the prize money for our future cultural and publishing projects with the countries in the Middle East.”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)