K-Book Trends -

Search word : "Kakao", Search result : 42

[INTERVIEW / KOREAN PUBLISHERS]

Korean Publishers Wisdom House, Inc Dreaming of Becoming the Most Reader-centric Publisher 2023.01.02 One publisher is running with its dream of becoming a big and reader-centric general publishing house. Wisdom House is the publisher that recently reshaped itself through brand renewal to get closer to its readers. The publisher pays close attention to readers’ tastes and interests and sometimes talks to its readers. Wisdom House prints books and has expanded its realm to web comics and novels. The company is already recognized as one of Korea’s most influential publishers, but it never ceases to publish books on diverse themes, strives to be near its readers, and tries new things. Today, we met Wisdom House and heard its stories. Logo of Wisdom House It’s an honor to have you here on K-Book Trends. Please introduce Wisdom House to our subscribers. The general publisher Wis...

VOL.54 / 2023.01

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

Popular Korean Webtoons in the US

VOL.33 / 2021.04

[TREND / TOPIC]

Bestseller Keyword - Money

Bestseller Keyword - Money In 2020, Readers Chased After the Flow of Money 2021.02.08 The Asian Financial Crisis that broke out in 1997 may have sparked the recent publishing trend of “money” and “wealth” in Korea. At this time when all the conventional wisdom of getting a good job, earning money, and pursuing a stable life without debts has broken, books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad (Minumin) that suggest a new perspective that debt can also be an asset claiming that people need to study about money, and Who Moved My Cheese? (Jinmyoung) that gives a lesson that only those that have overcome fear and adapted to changes can go through challenges, caught readers’ attention. Then, the “get rich fever” in 2002, best represented by the commercial copy - “Hope you become rich!” - of a credit card company, strongly struck the publishing market. Readers, who became anxious due to restructuring in their company, early retirement, and the burden of inflation-dr...

VOL.31 / 2021.02

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do

Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do An Urban Fantasia of Cartoons 2021.01.04 Located west of Gyeonggi-do Province, Bucheon is near central Seoul and borders Incheon and its beautiful ocean. Bucheon is referred to as the “city of art and culture.” It is not only the host of international festivals including the Bucheon International Animation Festival, Bucheon International Comics Festival, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, and Bucheon B-Boy International Championships but is also a leader of art and culture as it hosts the Poksagol Art Festival and fosters the Bucheon City Arts Group. Also, it marks the 3rd year of being designated as the UNESCO City of Literature, having its “historical heritage” based on literary activities in Bucheon, various festivals and abundant “cultural content,” and convenient “library infrastructure” recognized. Why not join us on the trip to Bucheon, the city of culture and creativity, closest to central Seoul? Reme...

VOL.30 / 2021.01

[TREND / TOPIC]

Publication Industry’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Publication Industry’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020.07.13 Critique and composer Choi Jung-Woo said in his article “Era of Social Media: What is the Role of Humanities (The Kyunghyang Shinmun, December 18, 2012)” that Twitter and Facebook are referred to as bywords for modern “communication” but are never in the style of “dialogue,” and as such are paradoxically against the communicative function expected of them as “Social Networks.” He argued that Twitter is closer to laying out “testimonies” and that Facebook is more like an “exhibition” than being a platform for communication, and that with the two having more of a “monologue” characteristic, Social Media is having a negative impact on the development of humanities.Seven years and four months later, in his article “Humanities in the era of Social Media: The Gaze of Signs Emerging with Intervention (Giheok Heoui Vol. 504, January 20th, 2020)”, he once again claimed that “Even though t...

VOL.24 / 2020.07

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Literary Awards and Contests in the field of Genre Literature

Literary Awards and Contests in the field of Genre Literature Becoming the center of the publishing market as a mainstream field 2020.06.01 The preference of readers is having more influence on the Korean publishing market than other elements. Genre literature including webtoons (online comics), web novels, and science fiction that gained little attention in the past have become popular among readers – even comparable to pure literature – and its market is expanding as well. The idea that genre literature is non-mainstream and is only enjoyed by certain fans has become nonsense today. In particular, in terms of web novels, anyone can become a writer, and as anybody can enjoy the works with a mobile device anywhere one likes, its market has outgrown that of paper books. Genre literature possesses a different value than pure literature in that its works can be extended to derivative works such as movies or TV series with their creative ideas and fast flow of stori...

VOL.23 / 2020.06

[TREND / TOPIC]

E-book Platforms and the Meaning of “Original Content”

E-book Platforms and the Meaning of “Original Content” The value of new methods and strategies 2020.05.04 According to the 2019 National Reading Survey, 52.1% of Korean adults were reading paper books. Adding e-books and audiobooks only pulled up the rate to 55.7%. The rate is falling with every survey. The reason for the fall in adults’ reading rate is a change of pattern in consuming content. People that enjoy other content than books reached 29.1%. Smartphones killed books.Yet, there are still readers. More and more readers are reading books with their mobile devices. Major online bookstores such as Yes 24, Kyobo Bookstore, and Aladdin have more than 10 million members each. Even e-book companies RIDI Books and Millie have millions of subscribers. There are many readers who enjoy reading genre literature through web-novel platforms such as Naver Webnovel, KakaoStory, Munpia, and Joara. In short, the missing number of paper book readers, or even mor...

VOL.22 / 2020.05

[INTERVIEW / KOREAN PUBLISHERS]

Safehouse Inc.

Safehouse Inc. A Powerhouse of Boundless Cross-genre Imagination 2021.05.03 Established under the slogan of being “A safe house for good stories,” publisher Safehouse is one of the publishers specializing in genre fiction in Korea. Living up to the slogan, the publisher works as a “safe house” for creators and stories so that stories about various topics that had been in the shadow can gain attention. Following is an interview with publisher Safehouse, a home to boundless imagination going across genres and media, collaborating with webtoon and video companies that need stories, particularly those that can be made into books. Logo of Safehouse Inc. Please introduce Safehouse to overseas publishers. Safehouse is a “producer of genre fiction stories” that plans and develops content for stories. Safehouse’s producers and creators cooperate from the planning stage of stories until the end. We pursue stories that have the potential to...

VOL.34 / 2021.05

[TREND / TOPIC]

South Korea's online platforms where readers can meet genre literature

South Korea's online platforms where readers can meet genre literature 2019.12.09 Typically genre literature refers to genre fiction, which in turn is used to call novels with similar elements or narrative styles like books of science fiction, fantasy novels, detective thrillers and mysteries. As we entered the 2010s, the market for e-books and web novels which represent digital publishing content rapidly grew and genre fiction has been shaking up the conventional literature scene ever since. In South Korea, web novels centering on genre fiction appeared in earnest in January 2013 on Naver's web novel service.What sets web novels apart from conventional novels is the fact that their formats can vary depending on the author's situation. Usually, readers have to pay for each chapter in the novel, so authors base their stories on fun and suspense. Needing to keep readers hooked, events in web novels happen quickly in short amounts of time. Also, as increasingly more user...

VOL.18 / 2019.12

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

South Korea's literary awards and competitions of 2019

South Korea's literary awards and competitions of 2019 Standards for selecting the country's best authors and literary works 2019.12.09 South Korea's publishing industry has been making efforts to consistently discover new writers, fresh writing and excellent works of literature through literary awards and literary contests. Here is a look into the written work that received literary awards and/or were submitted to literary competitions in 2019. Gateway to bigger success for new authors: new author awards The writers go on to have active careers after receiving the award and entering the field. Every January, South Korea's biggest newspapers hold literary competitions. These spring competitions are generally acknowledged as gateways or springboards for new authors to bigger success. This type of literary competition held early in the year was made widely known by the Dong-A Ilbo in 1925, and this y...

VOL.18 / 2019.12

VOL.70/2024.05

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