Mon, Jan 26, 2026 15:06

Yesterday, I visited the National Museum of World Writing Systems in Incheon, South Korea, for the first time to see the exhibition “Aldo Manuzio: The Publisher Who Changed the World.” It was rewarding to learn more about this influential Renaissance printer and publisher, whose work helped shape the foundations of modern typography and publishing. As emphasized by the museum’s curator this Korea Herald article quote, Manuzio was a key figure in making books more accessible while also helping to establish publishing as a sustainable commercial enterprise:

Some 50 years after Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in the 15th century, Manutius made books more approachable to the public by reducing their size and improving their readability, Lee Jungyeon, curator of the museum, told reporters during a press conference Friday. His innovations — including the italic typeface, the semicolon, the apostrophe and the octavo format — not only made books portable but also transformed publishing into a medium for mass knowledge, according to Lee.