K-Book Trends -

Search word : "Reality", Search result : 244

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Your Good Sense of Backing in Good Books

Knowledge Your Good Sense of Backing in Good Books Based on the example of online bookstore Aladin 2025.06.02 Why “Book Fund”? Online bookstore Aladin’s Book Fund program was first launched in 2012. The initial program allowed accounts to back up to 50,000 won to fund publishing projects. Publishers benefited by being able to raise money for pre-publication production costs, customers benefited by being able to earn up to 130% of their support back as bookstore credit if the book they funded became an overall bestseller, and booksellers benefited by being able to build an early audience of avid readers willing to support in upcoming titles. However, this design could not have a direct influence on the success of the book after publication, as it did not directly link the Book Fund to actual purchases of the book.In 2022, the web novel Return of the Blossoming Blade (Luff Media) was widely publicized in the media for its book f...

VOL.83 / 2025.06

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Experiencing Nature’s Great Epic on the Paradise Island of Hawaii

Special Project [New Ways of Walking Through Cities ⑤] Experiencing Nature’s Great Epic on the Paradise Island of Hawaii 2025.05.07 Whether it’s surfing the waves at Waikiki Beach, hiking Diamond Head to feel the earth’s vitality, or snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, a beautiful volcanic crater, Hawaii’s great nature is an art in itself. Moreover, you can enjoy sensational artwork in Kaka’ako, a former factory turned art village, or spend peaceful time exploring the National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, a pristine island home to many natural wonders. In particular, Waimea Canyon, the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” offers a deeply relaxing experience with the majesty of nature.Hawaii is a heavenly paradise that is considered a favorite vacation spot of the gods. In addition to the magnificent nature, you can also enjoy shopping at various shopping malls and culinary delights, such as Kona coffee, which is only grown in H...

VOL.82 / 2025.05

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

The “Anxiety of Youth” Crosses National Borders

Export Case The “Anxiety of Youth” Crosses National Borders 2025.05.07 What defines independent publishing? As publishing formats diversify and formerly “self-published authors” begin to compete by starting their own publishing houses, the question of what constitutes independent publishing has become a hot topic. In the absence of objective indicators, independent publisher Balcony defines independent publishing as follows: publishing that can entice readers with its own narrative without large-scale capital investment. In this sense, Yeon Jeong’s Tomorrow’s Sun Will Rise, But What About Tonight? can be considered one of the clear success stories of independent publishing.Before it was published by Balcony in 2020, Tomorrow’s Sun Will Rise, But What About Tonight? was an independent publication that Yeon Jeong wrote as a palm-sized book and distributed on a small scale. The publisher at Balcony discovered the book, which had been dis...

VOL.82 / 2025.05

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

A City of Endless Stories: New York

Special Project [New Ways of Walking Through Cities ①] A City of Endless Stories: New York 2025.01.06 Special Project in 2025 will be a new series that introduces readers to Korean books. Since K-Book Trends targets a global audience, we have been thinking about how to connect with readers in different countries. While we have introduced many cities in Korea, we wondered what it would be like to introduce readers to the cities where they live. That’s how the new series, “New Ways of Walking Through Cities,” began. We would like to feature Korean books that are set in cities outside of Korea and walk through those cities with our readers. As the first city, we chose New York, a city you might be living in, a city you might have traveled to, or a city you might be dreaming about.New York is like a giant heart that changes every moment. Its streets are always bustling with life, with people fr...

VOL.78 / 2025.01

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

Bringing Korean Voices to French Readers

Export Case Bringing Korean Voices to French Readers 2024.12.02 Korean literature and Editions Picquier have a long story. We began publishing books from Asia nearly 40 years ago: Korea and its literature, virtually unknown in France at the time, have fascinated us from our earliest days. The first works we published - Kim Won Il’s Mr Lee’s Travel, KIM Song Dong’s Mandala, Yun Hung Kil’s The Mother - almost went unnoticed; it was challenging to bring readers into contact with a literature that was far removed from the habits and preoccupations of French readers. It was a literature that gave pride of place to cultural traditions, to the earth, to history. We thus decided to publish anthologies of short stories and essays to give French readers some reference points. This had a pedagogical purpose, establishing a foothold in Korean literature and presenting a more organized history to readers. More than 30 years ago, what was being published in France wa...

VOL.77 / 2024.12

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Literary Awards: A Message of the Times

Special Project [Award-winning Korean Books ①] Literary Awards: A Message of the Times Major Korean literary award-winning books in 2024 2024.11.04 Writer Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024 Where does the authority of the Nobel Prize in Literature derive from? Is it the huge prize of 1.3 billion won, or the long history of 124 years? Or is it the exceptional life stories of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite? Well, it’s probably a combination of all of these elements, but more than that, it’s the message that holds the secret to its long-standing authority. The Nobel Prize in Literature has always pointed out exactly what we, as a species, need to think about right now, and where we should be headed together. Each year, hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of people around the world share the same curiosity when the Prize is announced. They ask themsel...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Where Poetry and History Meet

Book Trip [A Trip to Literary Museums ⑦] Where Poetry and History Meet Exploring the Kim Su-Young Museum and Cultural Legacy in Dobong-gu, Seoul 2024.11.04 A place that’s just ordinary for some can be a magnificent destination for others, inspiring memories and recharging the soul. Seoul, the capital of Korea, is a prime example of this duality. With the growing popularity of K-culture in various aspects, more travelers are visiting Seoul; however, if you make a trip slightly outside the center of Seoul to Dobong-gu, you will find a different Seoul with a more tranquil atmosphere. Surrounded by Bukhansan Mountain, Dobong-gu is a district where you can take a walk around the trail or hike up the mountain. There are also many areas where you can look down the mountain, get a glimpse of the cultural powerhouse that is Korea, and be touched and impressed. If you walk down the narrow alleyways of Dobong-gu, which add to the curiosity and fun of discovering hid...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Write the Story You Want to Read

Knowledge Write the Story You Want to Read Self-publishing platforms in Korea: The reasons for growth and the current state 2024.11.04 “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” - Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 While there is no established academic definition, “self-publishing” refers to authors planning, editing, publishing, and distributing their own manuscripts without working through a publishing company. As opposed to “vanity publishing,” which involves paying an upfront fee to a publisher to produce and distribute a book, it is used almost interchangeably with “independent publishing” in Korea (some researchers and book critics use the two terms separately). The desire to document ...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / TOPIC]

Korean Readers’ Picks in the First Half of 2024

Topic Korean Readers’ Picks in the First Half of 2024 2024.09.02 According to the “2023 National Reading Survey” announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in Korea, the overall reading rate was observed to be 43.0%, the lowest since the survey was initiated in 1994. This means that 6 out of 10 adults don’t even read a single e-book or audiobook, let alone a paper book. The shrinking of the reading population, which forms the foundation for the publishing market, and the aging population have been issues in Korea for quite a long time. However, it was indeed a shocking figure for the publishing industry as it expected to see a steady increase in the reading population since it enjoyed a boom during the pandemic compared to other industries.In the first half of the year, the reduction in newly published titles, driven by a contracting publishing market, alongside the enduring popularity of long-time bestsellers, played a si...

VOL.74 / 2024.09

[INFORMATION / NEW BOOKS]

Hands Picking Strawberries, Faces Erased

New Books Hands Picking Strawberries, Faces Erased 2026.08 Kim Soom, Strawberry Theory, Minumsa, 2026. Novelist Kim Soom is an author who quietly listens to and observes the lives of the socially vulnerable, such as Comfort Women survivors and visually impaired individuals, expressing their stories in her own unique literary style. Strawberry Theory is a work that depicts the lives of workers in a strawberry field through the eyes of "Hshapyae," a female migrant worker who moved to Korea from Myanmar. In Hshapyae's homeland of Myanmar, a tragedy of fratricidal war unfolds due to civil conflict, while the aftermath of earthquakes leaves her family living on the streets. The money Hshapya...

VOL.97 / 2026.08

VOL.97/2026.08

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