To welcome the new year of 2025, Yongin Special City announced that it will hold the ‘Reading Marathon’ from January 2 to October 31 next year as part of its reading promotion program . This competition will be operated in a format that combines reading and marathon, with participants reading books and writing book reviews to achieve the target distance . Participants must complete the reading course they have set by converting 2 meters per page of the book .
 [Korean Today] Yongin Special City 2025 Reading Marathon Poster © Reporter Han Ji-min |
The contest began as a pilot program in 2016 and has now become Yongin Special City’s representative reading promotion program . The program is divided into seven categories to allow people of all ages to participate: toddlers , elementary school reading notes , lower elementary school grades , upper elementary school grades , youth , general ( adults ), and family ( up to 5 people ) .
Participants can choose one of four courses : Walking (5,000m), Short Course (10,000m), Half Course (21,100m), and Full Course (42,195m) , excluding the Toddler and Elementary Reading Notes . Elementary school students must write a book review of at least 50 characters per book , and teenagers and above must submit a book review of at least 100 characters per book to the Reading Marathon website .
For the infant course, instead of writing book reviews , participants are recognized as completers if they borrow 130 books from the city’s public library during the contest period . For the ‘ Elementary Reading Note ‘ course for elementary school students who have difficulty using computers, participants are recognized as completers if they borrow 80 books and submit reading notes with more than 50 book reviews during the contest period .
Those who complete the competition will be given benefits such as certificates , souvenirs , and increased public library lending . In addition , the participant who writes the most book reviews will be awarded after the competition ends . Anyone who is a regular member of Yongin City Library can apply through the library homepage .
City officials said, “ The number of participants and finishers is increasing every year, ” and “The number of participants in 2024 was 5,801 , which is 237 more than the previous year , and the number of finishers was 1,847 , which is 395 more . ” He added, “ I hope that next year will be a fruitful year for many people to participate in the ‘ Reading Marathon ’ and build up their minds . ”
This competition goes beyond a simple reading activity and provides participants with an opportunity to experience the joy of reading and develop reading habits . The reading marathon promotes the importance of reading and contributes to activating reading culture in local communities .
Participants can freely choose the books they want to read , giving them the opportunity to come into contact with books of various genres . This is a great help in stimulating interest in reading and broadening the scope of reading .
Additionally , the contest also includes a category in which families can participate , providing an opportunity to share the joy of reading through communication and cooperation among family members .
In this way, Yongin Special City’s Reading Marathon is not just a simple competition , but is also an important program that helps develop reading culture in the local community and help citizens experience the joy of reading .
Everyone who participates in the contest will have the opportunity to gain new knowledge and share diverse ideas through reading . This will have a positive impact not only on personal growth but also on the development of the local community .
To participate in the reading marathon, you must become a regular member of the Yongin City Library and then apply through the library website . Details about the competition can be found on the website , and participants will set their own reading goals and work to achieve them .
This contest will be a great help in experiencing the joy of reading and developing reading habits . By writing book reviews of the books they have read , participants will be able to gain a deeper understanding of reading .
The Reading Marathon goes beyond a simple reading activity and provides participants with an opportunity to experience the joy of reading and develop reading habits . The Reading Marathon contributes to raising awareness of the importance of reading and activating reading culture in local communities .
As the city official said , “ I hope that next year will be a fruitful year in which many people participate in the ‘ Reading Marathon ’ and build spiritual nourishment ,” the Reading Marathon will be a meaningful experience for all participants .
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