2018 Publication Industry Factual Survey

Outline

The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) conducted the 2018 Publication Industry Factual Survey under article 16.5 “Factual Surveying and Statistical Surveying of the Publication and Culture Industry.” The survey conducted from June to December 2018 for the period between January 1st to December 31st, 2017, includes Copyright Export Statistics Survey.
The 2018 Publication Industry Factual Survey used a structured survey format (questionnaire) to research areas such as basic business information, general status, organization status, distribution status, business index and prospects, and other comments, where the researchers collected relevant information via phone calls, fax, e-mail, and offline surveys.
The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) said that the objective is to identify the current status of businesses engaging in publishing, estimate their business scale, develop and evaluate various policies related to the publication industry, thereby providing basic data to support the planning and evaluation of policies related to the industry, establishment of companies’ management plan, and facilitation of academic research of the academia and research institutes.

Summary of Factual Survey Result

Publisher

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Form of Business	Regular Business (full-time) 66.0%, Sideline Business 22.9%, Subsidiary Publisher 5.3%, Other Publisher 5.8%
	Form of Company	Private Business 72.3%, Limited Liability Company 21.6%, Corporate 2.5%, Others 2.4%, Foundation 1.3%
	Primary Field of Publication	General Books 59.3%, Academic/Specialty Books 20.8%, Children’s Books 6.8%, Textbooks/Study Books 5.1%, Test Preparation Books 5.1%, Home Study Books 2.5%, Complete Collections 0.5%
	Employee Status	Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 89.5%, Decrease 6.3%, Increase 3.9% New Recruitment: No recruitment made 72.2%, Recruitment made 27.8%
	New Book Publication	Average new publications 12.4 books, among them, six are translated books. (48.3%) Ratio of new books with more than two printings 35.0%
	Transaction and Distribution Status	Internet Bookstore 22.2%, Large Bookstore 18.0%, Direct Sales from Publisher 13.4%, Wholesale/Exclusive Distribution 12.6%, Joint Sales 12.1% Small and Medium Bookstore 6.4%, etc. Consignment Supply: Offline Bookstore Distribution 64.1%, Offline Wholesale Distribution 63.2%, Online Distribution 61.2% Return Rate: Average 17.3% Initial Printing 818.8 copies (2016) → 827.3 copies (2017)
	Welfare Status	Social Insurances 73.3% Signing of Employment Agreement 65.4% Severance Pay 61.5% Annual Paid Leave 55.8% Overtime Pay/Benefits 31.7% Long Service Paid Leave 24.1% Maternity Leave 23.1% Self-Development Support 21.0%
Sales	Sales	Sales Fluctuation: Nearly the same 50.8%, Decrease 27.9%, Increase 13.1% Sales Percentage per Field: General Books 57.1%, Academic/Specialty/Test Preparation Books 26.0%, Infant/Children 7.0%, Textbook/Study Books 4.8%, Home Study Books 2.4%, etc.
	Expenses	Annual Average Expenses KRW 448,900,000 Expense per Item: Production Cost 32.7%, Labor Cost 24.1%, Editing Cost 11.6%, Print/Writer’s Fee 10.2%, Operation Expenses 9.9%, Other Costs 8.3%, Marketing 3.3%
	Sales Percentage	nternet Bookstore 22.2%, Large Bookstore 18.0%, Direct Sales from Publisher 13.4%, Others 13.0%, Wholesale/Exclusive Distribution 12.6%, Joint Sales 12.1%, Small and Medium Bookstore 6.4%, etc.
Environment and System	Social Responsibility	Industrial Contribution: Moderate 47.7%, Large 30.6%, Small 21.7% Cultural Contribution: Large 59.2%, Moderate 35.2%, Small 5.7% Educational Contribution: Large 65.1%, Moderate 31.0%, Small 3.9%
	Publication Standard Contract	Awareness Status: Not aware 56.1%, Aware 43.9% Utilization Status: Use In-house contract 38.5%, Only use some terms 35.1%, Use all terms 26.5%
	Aspects in Need of Improvement	Discovery/Fostering of Writers 38.0%, Informatization /Environment Improvement in Distribution 30.5%, Increase of Book Purchase Budget by Libraries 22.2%, Promotion of Marketing 21.4%, Digitalization/Informatization 20.8%, Fostering of Talent/Training 14.7%, Trade Negotiation Capability/Supply Rate Improvement 12.7%, etc.
	Intention to Participate in Joint Project	Not interested 43.9%, Very interested 32.4%, Moderately interested 23.7%

e-book Publisher

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Form of Business	Paper Book-based Publisher 60.2%, Specialized e-book Publisher 31.0%, Others 8.8%
	Form of Company	Private Business 66.2%, Corporate 33.8%
	Range of Business (multiple choices allowed)	Production of e-book from Paper Book 97.5%, Distribution of e-book 30.2%, Publishing of Database (knowledge/academic information) 12.1%, Production of Multimedia e-book/App 10.7%, e-book Conversion of Complete Collection/Large-scale Project 8.5%, Exporting of e-book 4.4%, Production of Audio Books 3.8%, Publishing of e-magazine 2.5%
	Primary Field of Publication	General 69.0%, Genre Literature 14.0%, Magazine, etc. 6.3, Multimedia e-book 5.5%, Comic 5.2%
	Employee Status	Average Number of Employees in e-book Business 3.5 persons (full-time e-book employees 1.6 persons, part-time e-book employees 1.9 persons) e-book Business Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 92.6%, Increase 5.8%, Decrease 1.4%
	Number of Active Writers	Average 16.5 persons (paid and non-exclusive writers 40.4%, unpaid writers 39.7%, and exclusive writers 19.9%)
	Number of Business Partners	8.0 (B2C partners 6.2, B2B partners 1.8)
Business Status	Sales and Sales Percentage	Average Sales: KRW 192,200,000 Per Field: General 73.5%, Genre Literature 14.7%, Others 6.5%, Comics 5.3% Per Type: Text e-book 92.3%, e-book with Multimedia 3.6%, Others 3.2%, Audio Book 0.7%, e-book with AR/VR 0.3% Per Distribution Channel: B2C 93.7%, B2B 6.3%
		*	B2C: Online Bookstore 44.1%, e-book Website 36.4%, Master Contents Provider (MCP) 4.0%, Mobile Service/Portal Website 3.0%, Company Website 2.7%, Global Platform 2.3%, Others 1.2%
	Sales of Web Novels and Mobile Apps	Sales of Web Novels: None 87.4%, Present 12.6% Mobile App Sales: None 87.9%, Present 12.1%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	New and Cumulative Production	2017 e-book Production – an average of 54.1 types 2017 Paper Book Conversion Ratio – 49.1% Cumulative Publications of e-book Publishers – an average of 298.9 types
	Production Ratio	Per Field: General Field 73.3%, Genre Literature 14.8%, Magazines, etc. 6.6%, Comics 5.4% Per Type: Text e-book 92.2%, e-book with Multimedia 3.6%, Others 3.2%, Audio Book 0.8%, e-book with AR/VR 0.2% Per Producer: External (incl. distributor) Producer 51.9%, by Publisher 48.2%
	e-book and Paper Book	Replacement Effect of e-book for Paper Book: Moderate 47.8%, Positive 44.2%, Negative 8.0% Suitable Price Compared to Paper Book: 60.2% of that of Paper Book

Wholesale/Exclusive Distribution

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Form of Company	Private Business 91.4%, Corporate 8.6%
	Combination of Wholesale and Retail	Combination of Wholesale and Retail 53.1%, Only Wholesale 46.9%
	Warehouse	Average 457.86m2, Storage Capacity 482,000 books, Utilization Ratio 69.1%
	Primary Field	Study Books/Home Study Books 64.0%, General Books 16.0%, Specific Field 11.4%, Children’s Books 7.4%, College Textbook/Test Preparation Books 1.1%
	Employee Status	Number of Distribution Employees: Average of 3.4 persons Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 80.6%, Decrease 17.7%, Increase 1.7% New Recruitment: No recruitment made 90.9%, Recruitment made 9.1%
Business Environment	Sales Percentage	Per New Books/Existing Books: New 71.1%, Existing 28.9% Per Field: Study Books 44.1%, General Books 18.6%, Others 15.4%, Home Study Books 11.6%, Children’s Books 10.3%
	Operating Profit & Net Profit	Average Operating Profit: KRW 122,200,000 Average Net Profit: KRW 73,400,000, Average Net Profit Ratio: 2.6%
	Expenses	Annual Expenses: Average of KRW 1,844,100,000 Ratio of Expenses per Item: Purchasing of Publication 61.5%, Labor Cost 14.0%, Other Costs 9.5%, Rent 5.0% Purchasing Other Than Publications 7.6%, Advertisement/Promotion Costs 2.4%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	Ratio of Books Handled	Study Books/Home Study Books 54.7%, General Books 18.8%, Others 12.2%, Children’s Books 10.6%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 3.8%
	Number of Business Partners	Average of 219.3: Publishers 110.7, Bookstores 70.5, Suppliers 28.8, Wholesalers 7.3, Exclusive Distributors 2.1
	Trade Condition	Purchase from Publisher: College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 77.3%, Study Books 65.9%, General Books 64.5%, Children’s Books 64.2% Supply to Bookstore: College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 83.3%, Study Books 75.8%, General Books 75.1%, Children’s Books 72.6% Return Ratio: Study Books 32.5%, General Books 29.6%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 29.3%, Children’s Books 28.1% Return Period: Children’s Books 6.7 months, General Books 6.2 months, Study Books 6.0 books, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 5.3 months

Offline Bookstore

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Type of Bookstore	General Bookstore 55.1%, Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 29.2%, Specific Field 6.7%, Religious Books 6.2%, Items Other Than Books 5.2%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 4.0%, Children’s Books 2.1%
	Form of Company	Private Business 93.9%, Corporate 6.1%
	Business Location	Near Schools 4 8.4%, Commercial Area 25.2%, Residential Area 14.8%, Near Academies/Institutes 2.6%
	Store Area	Average of 322.31m2, Book Area Ratio: 60.3% (Shelf Area Ratio of 25.8%)
	Employee Status	Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 91.5%, Decrease 7.3%, Increase 1.2%
Business Status	Sales Percentage	Book Sales 84.5%, Other Items (stationary, etc.) 15.5% Per New Book/Existing Book: New Books 71.4%, Existing Books 28.6% Per Field: Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 45.7%, General Books 25.5%, Others 14.3%, Children’s Books 7.9%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 6.6% Best Seller/Steady Seller 30.0%
	Business Profit and Net Profit	Average Business Profit KRW 1 03 8 00,000, Profit Ratio 16.0% Average Net Profit KRW 49,500,000, Net Profit Ratio 9.8%
	Expenses	Annual Expenses: Average of KRW 952,600,000 Expense per Item: Purchasing of Publications 60.2%, Rent 10.2%, Purchasing Other Than Publications 9.8%, Other Costs 9.7%, Labor Costs 9.0%, Advertisement/Promotion Costs 1.2%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	Books Handled	Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 45.1%, General Books 26.6%, Others 14.3%, Children’s Books 7.8%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 6.2%
	New BookTypes and Number of Copies	New Book Types: Average of 4,403.5 types, Average Number of Copies per Type: 63.9 copies
	Monthly Average Orders and Returns	Monthly Average Order: 3,500.0 copies, Average Monthly Returns: 668.5 copies
Customer Status	Visitors and Purchase Ratio	Visitors on Weekdays: 179.9, Visitors on Weekend: 239.6 Ratio of Visitors Making Purchases: 63.6%
	Customer Groups	Female 57.8%, Male 42.2%, Teens 36.0%, 40s 17.7%, 20s 15.9%, 30s 14.5%, 50s 11.5%, 60 and older 4.5%
	Number of Books Purchased and Purchase Amount	Average Number of Books Purchased per Person: 2.0 books, Monthly Average Purchase Amount: KRW 23,244.0
Transaction and Informatization	Number of Business Partners	Suppliers: 108.3 (Directly from Publisher: 94.1, Exclusive Distributor: 8.9, Wholesale: 5.3), Buyers: 13.5
	Purchase Ratio	General Books: Wholesale 65.4%, Exclusive Distributor 60.1%, Directly from Publisher 52.7% College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books: Wholesale 67.9%, Directly from Publisher 66.9%, Exclusive Distributor 59.8% Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books: Exclusive Distributor 71.8%, Wholesale 68.6%, Directly from Publisher 55.7% Children’s Books (Complete Collection, Single Book): Exclusive Distributor 64.2%, Wholesale 63.8%, Directly from Publisher 50.7%
	Return Ratio and Return Period	Return Ratio: Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 35.4%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 32.6%, General Books 28.6%, Children’s Books 28.3% Return Period: Children’s Books 9.2 months, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 7.8 months, General Books 7.5 months, Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 6.4 months

Online Bookstore

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Type of Bookstore	General Bookstore 43.1%, Specific Field 27.6%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 12.1%, Religious Books 8.6%, Children’s Books 6.9%, Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 1.7%
	Form of Company	Private Business 58.6%, Corporate 41.4%
	Warehouse Status	Average: 1147.43m2, Storage Capacity: about 740,000 books, Utilization Ratio: 80.8%
	Offline Store Operation Status	No operation (no store) 50.0%, Operation 50.0%
	e-book Sales	Not on Sale 87.9%, On Sale 12.1%
	Used Book Transactions	Transaction not made 84.5%, Transaction made 15.5%
	Employee Status	Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 82.8%, Decrease 8.6%, Increase 8.6%
Business Status	Sales Percentage	Book Sales 91.7%, Others (stationery) 8.3% New Books/Existing Books: New Books 55.7%, Existing Books 44.3% Per Field: General Books 47.8%, Others 24.9%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 15.5%, Children’s Books 9.0%, Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 2.9% Used Books 9.7% Best Seller/Steady Seller 29.8%
	Operation Profit & Net Profit	Average Business Profit: KRW 364,800,000, Average Business Profit Ratio: 15.4% Average Net Profit: KRW 136,800,000, Average Net Profit Ratio: 12.9%
	Expenses	Total Expenses: KRW 3,056,300,000 Expense per Item: Purchasing of Publications 41.6%, Labor Costs 21.3%, Others 19.8%, Rent 9.4%, Purchasing Other Than Publications 3.8%, Advertisement/Promotion Costs 4.1%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	Books Handled	Others 39.3%, General Books 35.0%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 13.9%, Children’s Books 9.3%, Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 2.5%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	New Book Types and Number of Copies	New Book Types: Average of 11,367.7 types, Number of Copies per Type: 260.2 copies
Customer Status	Visitors and Purchase Ratio	Daily Average Bookstore Website Visitors: 10,592.0/Purchase Ratio: 7.2% Daily Average Bookstore Mobile App Visitors: 6,073.4/Purchase Ratio: 14.0%
	Customer Groups	Female 55.3%, Male 44.7% 30s 33.0%, 20s 28.6%, 40s 24.3%, 50s 10.4%, 60 or older 2.6%, Teens 1.2%
	Number of Books Purchased and Purchase Amount	Average Number of Books Purchased per Person: 2.0 books, Monthly Average Purchase Amount: KRW 27,151.5
Transaction and Informatization	Number of Business Partners	Suppliers: 407.5 (Directly from Publisher 365.5, Exclusive Distributor 29.2, Wholesale 12.8) Buyers: 94.6
	Purchase Ratio	General Books: Directly from Publisher 69.9%, Others 70.7% College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books: Directly from Publisher 70.5%, Others 76.1% Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books: Directly from Publisher 71.8%, Others 77.8% Children’s Books (Complete Collection, Single Book): Directly from Publisher 70.3%, Others 78.0%
	Return Ratio and Return Period	Return Ratio: Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 20.8%, Children’s Books 18.3%, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 16.8%, General Books 16.8% Return Period: Elementary/Middle/High School Study Books 9.2 months, College Textbooks/Test Preparation Books 8.0 months, Children’s Books 7.0 months, General Books 5.2 months

e-book Distributors

Primary Classification	Secondary Classification	Findings
General Status	Primary Field of Distribution	General Field (other than Genre Literature) 40.0%, Genre Literature 33.3%, Magazine, etc. 13.3%, Comics (incl. Webtoons) 13.3%
	Employee Status	Employee Fluctuation: Nearly the same 60.0%, Increase 26.7%, Decrease 13.3% New Recruitment: Recruitment made 53.3%, No recruitment made 46.7%
	Number of Business Partners	Publishers B2B 1,043.5, B2BC 34.4, Others 8.0
Business Status	Sales Percentage	Per Field: General Field 33.0%, Genre Literature 41.8%, Magazine, etc. 12.7%, Comics 12.5% Per Type: Text e-book 74.7%, e-book with Multimedia 19.2%, e-book with AR/VR 2.7%, Audio Book 1.8%, Others 1.7% Per Sales Method: B2C 56.0%, B2B 27.9%, B2BC 16.1%
Business Status	Web Novels and Mobile App Sales	Web Novel Sales: Present 53.3%, None 46.7% Mobile App Sales: None 73.3%, Present 26.7%
Books Handled & Transaction Status	Number of Services	Average Number of Services in 2017: 504,760 types Average Number of Web Novel Services of Web Novel Distributors: 442,262 types
	Production Ratio per Type	Text e-book 75.7%, e-book with Multimedia 18.9%, Audio Book 3.5%, Others 1.8%
	Sales Status	Monthly Average Sales: about KRW 2,781,920,000 Monthly Average Downloads: about 1,710,000 Monthly Average Buyers: 97,979 Annual Average Sales (single book): 566,691, Complete Collection Sales: 115,041, Monthly Service Account: 150,773
Customer Status	Membership Status	Cumulative Member Count: Average of 2,040,320 Paid Accounts: 184,616, Monthly/Periodic Service Accounts: 14,873 Female 53.6%, Male 46.4% 30s 31.3%, 20s 27.0%, 40s 17.6%, Teens 14.5%, 50s 9.2%, 60 or older 0.4%