Paju Book City is a leading publishing and cultural hub in Korea, established in 2011, when it began establishing a street of bookstores to transform itself from a place of publication to a place for enjoying book culture. A total of 42 bookstores opened within the book city's first year. In view of participating in international activities, the city joined the International Organization of Booktowns (IOB) in June 2012. The IOB is an organization of 16 book towns in 13 countries.The Paju Booksori Festival is the largest book festival in Asia. Launched in the fall of 2011, the festival draws around 100 publishers, and leading organizations related to the publishing industry, books, education, and culture.