K-Book Trends -

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[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Korean Publishing Industry's Crisis and Its Future

Publishing Industry Korean Publishing Industry's Crisis and Its Future 2022.01.03 The Korean publishing industry seems to be facing one of its biggest crises as the new year 2022 approaches. Last year, Korea's 2nd largest book wholesale distributor, Interpark Songin, proceeded with insolvency, and the 3rd largest bookstore Bandi & Luni's (Seoul Book Center), is to be under corporate rehabilitation. Seoul Book Center was expected to go through the procedure considering its unhealthy financial status. Nevertheless, the expectation being realized brought chaos to many partnered publishing companies. From a macro view, how should we interpret the situation faced by the publishing industry? Before we think about the current situation, let's see how big players Interpark Songin and Seoul Book Center came to crumble. Interpark Songin and Bandi & Luni's news stirred many publishing companies. June 2020, Korea's 2nd largest book whole...

VOL.42 / 2022.01

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Reviews, Review Journals, and the New Review Culture

Publishing Industry Reviews, Review Journals, and the New Review Culture 2021.12.06 More than 80,000 books are published each year. It means that about 200 books are released in the market every day. Some become bestsellers, and some vanish from the shelves in a few days. People that are "sincere" about reading books lose their way in the piles of new books, trying to figure out which book is good to read. Some people wait for the book column in a newspaper, some listen to book introductions on TV or radio, and some nod their head to the fancy wordplay of book-tubers on YouTube. However, as there is no appropriate or trustable guide, many readers feel as if they are trapped in Daedalus' Maze. Besides, there are voices arguing that there's actually no book to read, for there's no water to drink in a flood. Recently in Korea, a small seed of hope has sprung up, that the new review culture will arrive, centered around a number of review journals. ...

VOL.41 / 2021.12

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Korean Books Seen From a Foreign Blog’s View

Publishing Policy Korean Books Seen From a Foreign Blog’s View 2021.12.06 Korean content, or K-content, is making outstanding progress in parts of the world in various fields. Korean books are not an exception. While they are spreading their influence in the international market, blogs in other countries that introduce various Korean books are also actively making posts about them. Foreign blogs that criticize and empathize with Korean books in a different style from the domestic market promote Korean books with fresh insights. They not only spark interest but also provide high-quality interpretation and approach. Following are some of the blogs that contribute to the spread of Korean books’ reputation worldwide by covering a wide range of Korean books. Warm but keen evaluation of Korean books A variety of content drives empathy from the generation living in this globalized era transcending time and space. Korea’s various cultures are captivating ...

VOL.41 / 2021.12

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

The Current State of Korea’s Libraries and Their Relation to the Publishing Industry

Publishing Industry The Current State of Korea’s Libraries and TheirRelation to the Publishing Industry 2021.11.01 Libraries have been around for a very long time in Korea, but the same cannot be said for libraries that fall under the modern definition. Pioneers who wanted to establish a new country as the late 19th century Joseon Dynasty passed, followed by the early 20th century Korean Empire, had the goal of establishing libraries under the modern concept. However, due to the arrival of Japanese colonization, they could not achieve the goal, and the concept of libraries changed as they became more of a tool for colonization. Finally, in 1945, colonization was brought to an end, and the country was liberated, but hardship struck with the Korean War that followed soon after. However, with the growth of the economy and the expansion of democracy, libraries have been endlessly changing and advancing to support the growth of citizens, the real...

VOL.40 / 2021.11

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

The Current State of Subscription-Based Services of Korea’s Published Content

Publishing Industry The Current State of Subscription-Based Services of Korea’s Published Content 2021.10.05 Mobile phones provide convenience as they can be used to write or read while on the move. There have been quite a lot of changes in how books, music, movies, dramas, games, and other content are created and consumed. There has also been an increase in the different types of content distribution models that use a variety of smart devices and social network systems. The major examples of this would be short-form content, which you can use for a short period, and subscriptions for sale, through which you can have unlimited access to content depending on the subscription period. The content industry is quickly transferring from a generation of “owning” to “consuming” worldwide. With the rapid increase of consumers of many contents due to the COVID-19 pandemic, renting content and subscribing to content has successfully settled as popular mass cont...

VOL.39 / 2021.10

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Book Funds and Publication

Book Funds and Publication 2021.07.05 From support and cooperation to investment and profit It is impossible to trace the origin of book funds. They would have existed from the infancy stage of the publishing industry as one of the various ways of publication. Certain stories could be deemed good stories necessary for the world, but for them to be published in the market as a product called books, you need capital. Funds might have been used as a means to raise money. Indeed, the nature of funds in the past would have been closer to support and cooperation (of course, I cannot look into what those fund-raisers had in mind), whereas funds today are more focused on investment and profit-sharing (people might have different thoughts as well but most of the funds I participate in are supportive and cooperative).In the Korean publishing industry, book funds only account for a small proportion, both in terms of attempts and size of investments. It was the early 21st cent...

VOL.36 / 2021.07

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Audiobooks: Issues and Future Developments

Audiobooks: Issues and Future Developments 2021.05.03 Recent issues surrounding audiobooks The voice service provided in announcements, news reading services, or e-book devices uses TTS (Text-to-Speech) technology that converts written letters into sound. As it has no accent and cuts the sentence in weird places, we have to track what it said while listening to the voice. Recently, as more people read books while traveling, e-books are transforming into audiobooks. Most people wish to hear a human’s voice when listening to one. The audiobook market is growing rapidly, but the production time, cost, and technological limitations have been slowing progress down. However, as the A.I. (artificial intelligence) voice synthesis technology is now being applied where it can process natural language, synthesize voices, and recognize the context, listeners can feel as if a real voice actor or actress is reading the story. If this technology becomes capable of expres...

VOL.34 / 2021.05

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Audiobooks in Korea: Users and Service Providers

Audiobooks in Korea: Users and Service Providers Service and Content Providers in Busy Days with Market’s Growing Interest in Audiobooks 2021.04.05 In the previous March edition, we talked about the audiobook industry's current status in Korea and its prospects in 2021. Consumers and service providers play a pivotal role in expanding the market and business opportunities. Furthermore, it is meaningful to witness how they interact with each other in the audiobook ecosystem contributes to the industry’s healthy growth and maturity. In this April’s edition, let’s find what behaviors audiobook consumers have shown to the market. Recently-made audio content enabling interaction among provider and users, providing a new-level of “experience”. As the pandemic is not showing any signs of abating, more people are enjoying audiobooks at home instead of going to bookstores or libraries. In the previous edition, we introduced how “Wela...

VOL.33 / 2021.04

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Major Affairs in Korean Publishing Policy in 2021

Major Affairs in Korean Publishing Policy in 2021 2021.03.08 Last year had been a particularly tough year for the Korean publishing industry due to several issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the bankruptcy of Interpark Song-in Books Corp., fixed book price policy, the Cloud Bread writer’s loss in a lawsuit, and several other incidents that violated the freedom of publishing. Various policies are also scheduled to change in 2021 including a revision of copyright law, which is expected to transform the publishing environment. While it is highly important to narrow down the difference in ideas and find a way for coexistence regarding cases that have many interests entangled in the publishing and cultural industry, it seems that such cases will take place quite often this year. This section covers significant affairs related to the law revision currently under discussion and publishing policies. For cases where many interests are intertwined, it...

VOL.32 / 2021.03

[INFORMATION / BEST SELLERS]

2nd Week, April 2024

Best Sellers 2nd Week, April 2024 Best seller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea 2024.05.07 It is the 2nd week of April, when spring is in full swing, and two non-fiction titles with uplifting, heartwarming messages made the top 10 overall bestseller list. At No. 4, Don’t Need a Path of Flowers, My Life is a Flower is a book with sunshine-like sentences that embrace the latter part of life. It offers a rich emotional experience to readers by combining writings that encapsulate life’s wisdom with masterpieces that gain more love as time passes. Another book, A Circle is a Circle, Even if It’s Dented, by musician Kim Chang-Wan, who has left a profound mark on Korean pop culture, came in at No. 7. Featuring the letters he answered to listeners on his radio show as well as the opening lines he wrote himself, the book delivers lighthearted reassurance and the voice of a “real adult” from a musician that reaches across gene...

VOL.70 / 2024.05

VOL.45/2022.04

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