October’s Korean bestseller lists put a new Haruki Murakami novel beside perennial fiction, ancient philosophy, exam guides and a forecast for 2027.
October’s Korean book charts did not tell a single story. They placed a new literary event beside books that have circulated for decades, while practical anxiety showed up through a 2027 trend forecast and civil-service exam guides.
Retailer lists measure different customers and use different methods, so the charts below remain separate. YES24 describes its monthly list as online and store sales from October 1 through 31. Aladin says its monthly ranking reflects purchases during the recent month and can include preorders. Kyobo Book Centre’s monthly title list was not exposed in a stable capture, so its final weekly chart is used only as a carryover signal.
YES24 October top 10
- 가호 (Blessing) — Haruki Murakami
- 트렌드 코리아 2027 (Trend Korea 2027) — Kim Ran-do and others
- 빨강의 자서전 (Autobiography of Red) — Anne Carson
- 싯다르타 (Siddhartha) — Hermann Hesse
- 세네카, 오늘을 빼앗기고 있는 당신에게 (Seneca, For You Who Are Losing Today) — Seneca
- 쇼펜하우어 인생수업 (Schopenhauer’s Life Lessons) — Arthur Schopenhauer
- 2027 공단기 소방단기 써니 행정법총론 기출문제집 (2027 Sunny Administrative Law Past Questions) — Park Jun-cheol
- 모순 (Contradictions) — Yang Gui-ja
- 한국사 이상현상 연구원 (Korean History Anomaly Research Institute) — Kang Min-young
- 2027 유휘운 행정법총론 통합형 진도별 기출문제집 (2027 Integrated Administrative Law Past Questions) — Yoo Hwi-woon
YES24’s list shows literary fiction and philosophy sharing a top 10 with specific exam books. The date “2027” appears in three titles but represents two needs: understanding the next year and preparing to pass an examination in it.
Aladin October top 10
- 가호 (Blessing) — Haruki Murakami
- 빨강의 자서전 (Autobiography of Red) — Anne Carson
- 트렌드 코리아 2027 (Trend Korea 2027) — Kim Ran-do and others
- 한국사 이상현상 연구원 (Korean History Anomaly Research Institute) — Kang Min-young
- 자연의 것들은 그저 자란다 (The Things of Nature Simply Grow) — Yiyun Li
- 박완서의 낱말들 (The Words of Park Wan-suh) — Park Wan-suh, compiled by Ho Won-sook
- 싯다르타 (Siddhartha) — Hermann Hesse
- 서늘한 대화 (A Chilling Conversation) — Jeong Jae-seung
- 퍼플필 (Purple Feel) — a November release listed through October preorder activity
- 원피스 115 (One Piece 115) — Eiichiro Oda
Aladin’s list leans toward literary fiction and reflective prose. 퍼플필 (Purple Feel) appears because Aladin counts preorders—evidence of anticipation, not that the book was already released.
가호 (Blessing) was the clearest shared leader
Haruki Murakami’s 가호 (Blessing) held No. 1 at YES24 and Aladin. It also led Kyobo’s final weekly chart for October 22–28. These remain separate signals, but together make the novel the month’s strongest cross-retailer event.
A Nobel moment revived 빨강의 자서전 (Autobiography of Red)
Anne Carson’s 빨강의 자서전 (Autobiography of Red) reached No. 3 at YES24 and No. 2 at Aladin following the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature announcement. The novel in verse reworks the myth of Geryon through desire, art and self-definition.
Old books answered a contemporary mood
싯다르타 (Siddhartha) placed fourth at YES24 and seventh at Aladin. YES24 also carried Seneca and Schopenhauer in its top six. Their visibility points toward demand for compact guidance on time, desire and how to live, though editions, pricing and promotion also matter.
트렌드 코리아 2027 (Trend Korea 2027), No. 2 at YES24 and No. 3 at Aladin, offers a vocabulary for what may come next, while the classics promise distance from prediction. October readers bought both approaches.
Korean fiction stayed in the picture
한국사 이상현상 연구원 (Korean History Anomaly Research Institute) appeared at No. 9 on YES24 and No. 4 on Aladin. Yang Gui-ja’s 모순 (Contradictions) reached No. 8 at YES24. Aladin placed 박완서의 낱말들 (The Words of Park Wan-suh) at No. 6.
October readers asked different things from books: give me the new Murakami, help me understand next year, prepare me for an exam, return me to a classic, or introduce me to the writer everyone is discussing. The chart is most useful when those motives remain visible instead of being compressed into one national ranking.
