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[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Korean Folk Tales and Picture Books: Spreading Korean Culture into the World

Special Project [English Books in Korea ③] Korean Folk Tales and Picture Books:Spreading Korean Culture into the World Introduction of Korean folk tales and picture books published in English 2024.08.05 Since its founding in 1963, “Hollym,” the English-language brand of “Hollym Corp., Publishers,” has been publishing and exporting English-language books introducing Korean culture to the world with the catchphrase, “Books on Korea to the World.” In 1977, it established a local subsidiary, “Hollym International Corp.” in New Jersey in the US, and has set up overseas distributors around the world to accelerate book exports.From the late 1900s to the early 2000s, not many people knew where Korea was located, or even if it existed at all. It was a difficult time for people to make a living, so the domestic publishing industry could not be developed systematically; it was rare for Korean books to be exported and translated and published i...

VOL.73 / 2024.08

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

Factors Behind the Success of Korean Webtoons and Webnovels in the Global Marketplace

Export Case Factors Behind the Success of Korean Webtoons and Webnovelsin the Global Marketplace Based on the Southeast Asian market, including Thailand 2024.08.05 Korean webtoons and webnovels are making waves in the global content market. In particular, they are drawing global attention with great success in Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand.The scalability of secondary use of IP is the most notable factor these days. Many webnovels and webtoons are being adapted into various media, such as dramas, movies, and games, providing publishers and media companies with additional opportunities for monetization. This, coupled with the influence of the Korean Wave, is creating a synergistic effect. The global popularity of K-Pop and Korean dramas has increased worldwide interest in Korean culture, and this has naturally led to a greater interest in Korean webnovels and webtoons. As you can see in the image below, this is clearly evident in the statistics...

VOL.73 / 2024.08

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

An Encounter with Poems that Capture the Wistfulness of an Unfulfilled Youth

Book Trip [A Trip to Literary Museums ④] An Encounter with Poems that Capturethe Wistfulness of an Unfulfilled Youth Ki Hyung-Do Literary Museum, Gyeonggi-do, Gwangmyeong-si 2024.08.05 It’s always poignant to see things end with their full potential yet to be realized. This is no exception for poets. A poet who died young, before he had even begun to fully pursue his writing endeavor, leaves a sense of wistfulness and sadness in the hearts of all readers of his poetry.In this month’s Book Trip, a city tour inspired by literature, we travel to Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, where poet Ki Hyung-Do spent his childhood. The Ki Hyung-Do Literary Museum, nestled amongst a dense apartment complex, gives city dwellers a moment to breathe in the scent of poetry. There is also a place in nearby Ki Hyung-Do Literary Museum, where you can feel the ambiance of a traditional Korean house and experience the stunning transformation of an abandoned mine. Gw...

VOL.73 / 2024.08

[TREND / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

From a Tiny Room to a Funeral Home, and to the Heaven of Magma

One-Liner Quotes From a Tiny Room to a Funeral Home,and to the Heaven of Magma A Poet’s Pick 2024.08.05 Kim Yu-Tae is a poet and reporter in the Art & Culture Department at Maeil Business Newspaper. He wrote the poetry collection, Nothing Happened Except for That One (Munhakdongne, 2021), and the prose collection about banned books, Bad Books (Geulhangari, 2024). A Western scholar once wrote that language reveals what has been, and what has not been, and above all, what has “ceased” to exist. Here, the language can be the names of those who once existed, or sometimes the sentences left behind in the form of poetry. In this respect, I have long thought of the posthumous poetry collection as a “rusty mirror” in which the departed tried to find and gaze upon their own self-portrait ahead of time.The poetry of the dead, contemplated in life by those who are no longer with us, is like a letter from the afterlife to the pre...

VOL.73 / 2024.08

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Korean Publishers’ Efforts to Meet New Readers

Knowledge Korean Publishers’ Efforts to Meet New Readers 2024.08.05 Publishers have been putting the utmost effort into connecting readers, works, and authors. One of the examples was booktalks, where readers meet the author. Booktalks helped publishers expand the horizon of readers’ engagement with works and maintain fanship, but it was not easy to secure new readers. As a large number of booktalks turned contactless after the outbreak of COVID-19, the small influx of new readers fell even more.Meanwhile, as the marketing trend in Korea moved onto pop-up stores, many Generation Z started to take shots, do opening rushes, and leave reviews. This trend has made it a must-do event for companies when launching new products (brands). There were even reviewers who left comments on pop-up stores open in Seongsu-dong (the region in Seoul settled as a hot place among Generation Z as it became the hub of pop-up stores). Where both present and future readers...

VOL.73 / 2024.08

[TREND / TOPIC]

What the “Steady Seller Phenomenon” Means for the Book Market

Topic What the “Steady Seller Phenomenon” Means for the Book Market On books that have reached their 100th print 2024.07.01 The implication of books that hit the 100th print Kim Dong-Sik’s The Grey Man (Yoda Books) recently celebrated its 100th printing in the Korean book market. While the writer’s dramatic leap from a foundry worker to a best-selling writer has been spotlighted, what is perhaps most important is the internal narrative of the short stories contained within. This collection of 24 short stories was selected from the hundreds of short stories he posted to the horror forum of an online community, “Today’s Humor.” It is indeed a kaleidoscope of life’s short stories, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking. Readers have responded so enthusiastically to the short story collection, which went into its 100th printing in 2017 - 7 years after it was first published, and there are many factors behind this. The factor include the dra...

VOL.72 / 2024.07

[INFORMATION / NEW BOOKS]

What If You Encountered Your Own Clone One Day?

New Books What If You Encountered Your Own Clone One Day? 2026.05 Can Hate Be Replicated?, Yoon, Hye-seong, 2026. Yoon, Hye-seong’s debut novel, Can Hate Be Replicated?, has been released as part of the "Short Series" by Safe House (Anjeongaok), a publisher specializing in genre fiction. Safe House is a production studio that creates and distributes stories for "fandoms" of genres such as SF, fantasy, mystery, horror, and romance. Author Yoon previously co-wrote the script for the K-drama 〈The Dream Life of Mr. Kim〉. While that drama offered a realistic and satirical portrayal of the lives of Korean office workers, Can Hate Be Replicated? explores a deeply human story of alienation, conflict, and the eventual downfall of a couple facing extreme suffering. The novel is categorized as a "Gyeong-jangpyeon," a format that can be described as a novella—a medi...

VOL.94 / 2026.05

[INFORMATION / BEST SELLERS]

April Blooms: Bestsellers of the Month

Best Sellers April Blooms:Bestsellers of the Month 2026.05 Major franchises dominate the majority of South Korea's offline bookstore market. Currently, four major franchises—Kyobo Book Centre, Youngpoong Bookstore, Jongno Books, and Arc N Book—are competing in the offline retail sector. Starting with Kyobo Book Centre, which has the largest number of branches, followed by Youngpoong Bookstore, Jongno Books, and Arc N Book, we will examine the top 10 best-selling books. In our previous issue, we examined the bestsellers at Kyobo Book Centre. For our May edition—the third installment of our offline bookstore analysis—we focus on the bestseller list from Jongno Books for the first week of April. Taking the top spot at Jongno Books this week is Project Hail Mary, published by RHK (RH Korea). This surge in popularity is directly linked to the cinematic release of the film adaptat...

VOL.94 / 2026.05

[INFORMATION / K-BOOK MAP]

A Literary Journey to Andong with Children for Korea’s “Family Month”

K-Book Map A Literary Journey to Andongwith Children for Korea’s “Family Month” 2026.05 Andong, a city where the noble "Yangban" spirit remains very much alive, is also home to a dedicated literary museum for children. In this edition of K-Book Map, we invite you to Andong, a destination where families can immerse themselves in both traditional Korean culture and children’s literature this “Family Month”. For those seeking a getaway that harmonizes Korea’s timeless traditions with contemporary cultural experiences, we highly recommend this journey that promises satisfaction for all generations. Kwon Jung Saeng Children's Literature Museum Your journey should begin at Kwon Jung Saeng Children’s L...

VOL.94 / 2026.05

[INFORMATION / AGENCY LIST]

Agency List

Agency List Agency List 2026.05 Abba Communication Ltd. Launched as a translation and interpretation agency in 204, Abba Communication (Abba here after) now also acts as a copyright agency. Abba supports young Korean publishers who are aspiring to build experiences in moving on to the international market, providing consultation on the way until they become global. Abba’s special forte is its excellent professional team with expertise in re-writing and/or editing synopses and introductions into texts both competitive and persuasive. Other services Abba provides include translating original materials and creating promotional texts. Focused Subjects LiberalArts : Biography, Management, Negotiation ...

VOL.94 / 2026.05

VOL.94/2026.05

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