Bestseller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

It’s September in Korea, and the warm sun and the cool breeze put smiles on people’s faces. As the traditional book-reading season of autumn approaches, fiction is showing its presence on the integrated list of bestsellers. Along with the continued popularity of the Dollagoot Dream Department Store series, which has brought about a fantasy fiction syndrome in Korea, writer Han Kang’s I Do Not Bid Farewell ranked first on the list. This book is the first new title from Han Kang in five years since she won the International Booker Prize in 2016 with The Vegetarian (Changbi) and has been gaining popularity among not only Korean readers but also foreign readers. The story I Do Not Bid Farewell depicts the memories of love that make human beings human in poetic sentences against the background of the Jeju April 3 Incident, a painful event in Korean history.

While we are already past mid-year, books that offer advice for living your life wisely have been popular as well. Non-fiction Life is Real gives a message that it is important to survive in reality without going bust. It offers hands-on information in areas such as financial management, getting a job, and going to university, as well as wisdom for happiness such as human relationships, love, and friendship. Meanwhile, Lucky, a self-help book, introduces seven keywords for success, just like his subtitle “7 Principles to Wake Up Luck in You.” It presents ways to draw luck inside you that will help you overcome problems to come into life in a realistic and practical way.

For children’s books, Legend of My Friend, written by Yi Gee-Eun, who won the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2021 for comics –ranked third. Her new series after Legend of the Red Bingsu (Woongjin Thinkbig) is a story about a tiger notorious for its bad temper and the flower attached to its tail, like destiny. Additionally, a book on Chuseok ranked fifth with the national holiday is just around the corner. The book Sol’s Chuseok Story is about a family visiting their grandmother for Chuseok. While it’s difficult to meet families far away due to the pandemic for this year’s Chuseok, I hope children could feel the abundance and warmth of the holiday through the book.

* K-Book Trends Vol. 37 – Interview with writer Yi Gee-Eun

* The rank of bestsellers below was organized after integrating domestic best sellers in the second week of September from the four biggest online bookstores in Korea – Kyobo Bookstore, Aladdin, Yes 24, and Interpark.