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[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

The Center of the World Behind High Walls: Beijing

Special Project [New Ways of Walking Through Cities ⑥] The Center of the World Behind High Walls: Beijing 2025.06.02 China is the fourth largest country on Earth. Its coastline spans more than 18,000 kilometers, and it borders 18 countries, including North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, and India. So, it’s impossible to summarize China in a few words or even a few sentences. This is what makes Beijing so special. Unlike Shanghai, Chongqing, Hong Kong, and other international cities, it has the symbolism of being a city that was built by only Chinese people under meticulous planning. It’s also in Beijing that fossils of Beijing Man (北京原人), a subspecies of Homo erectus, the first hominid to use fire, were discovered?no wonder the city has such historical significance.Perhaps this is why, among the Chinese, it’s been labeled “the place for those who care more about their dignity than a...

VOL.83 / 2025.06

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

How Korean Books Are Conquering Russia: The Experience of MIF

Export Case How Korean Books Are Conquering Russia: The Experience of MIF 2025.06.02 In recent years, Korean literature has been steadily capturing the hearts of Russian readers. One of the advocates of K-literature in Russia is MIF Publishing House. In this article, we explore how MIF made the strategic decision to publish Korean books, the titles that have already resonated with readers, and what the future holds. Who We Are MIF Publishing is one of Russia’s largest independent publishing houses. Since 2005, we have been producing high-quality nonfiction for adults and children, including books on self-development, business, psychology, art, and science, as well as fiction for adults, young adults, and younger readers.Our backlist includes more than 5,000 titles, and we publish around 400 new books each year. Our authors range from bestselling international names to renowned Russian writers. We are active participants in the world’s leadin...

VOL.83 / 2025.06

[TREND / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

Suffering and Romance: Two Things Korea and Taiwan Share

One-Liner Quotes Suffering and Romance: Two Things Korea and Taiwan Share Picks of a foreign journalist living in Korea 2025.06.02 Wu Pei Ju (吳?如) is a freelance journalist based in Korea, and has written for newspapers and magazines in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She also runs the Korean literature podcast “Jeongyeol Hanbando” and the online Korean bookstore “Echo Islands” for readers in Chinese-speaking countries. She has translated Rest Area (Taiwanese edition). Around the time the Dec. 3 martial law was declared, I was editing and proofreading the Taiwanese edition of Beyond Death, Beyond the Dark Era (Changbi Publishers). It was hard to imagine the scenes in the book becoming reality, but they soon did. History is often distorted if it is not recorded. In this book, Hwang and two other authors recount the greed of the military dictatorship, ...

VOL.83 / 2025.06

[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 / TOPIC]

The Meaning Behind Korea’s “Copybook” Craze

Topic The Meaning Behind Korea’s “Copybook” Craze The Analog Comeback in a Digital Age 2025.05.07 The Return of Analog Sensibility with “Text-Hip” Culture Professor Kim Nan-Do, author of the book Trend Korea 2025 (Mirae Books), picked the “appeal of materiality” as one of the consumer trends in Korea this year. It is the power to make people not only appreciate content with their eyes, but also want to touch it physically. This is manifested in the “materialization of content” phenomenon. Kim explains that in the age of immateriality, where everything is digitized, people still crave something they can experience with their hands. This explains the recent craze for “transcription books” in the Korean book and publishing market. It is an era where all information is reduced to images and videos. People exposed to all kinds of digital content are now seeking the pleasure of holding a pen, touching paper, and seeing the contents of a book in ...

VOL.82 / 2025.05

[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 / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

About Fountain Pens, a Record of Nostalgia

One-Liner Quotes About Fountain Pens, a Record of Nostalgia Fountain pen expert’s pick 2025.05.07 Park Jong-Jin is the head of the Fountain Pen Lab. He sees the world through fountain pens. He has been collecting and studying fountain pens for over 40 years. He also plans and hosts the “Seoul Pen Show” every spring and fall. He has written books such as It’s a Fountain Pen (Lbig Media) and Of Two Minds About Fountain Pens (Teumsae Books). What is a well-made fountain pen? It’s one that you write with effortless control by just changing the direction, and one that you fall in love with every time you look at it, no matter how long you have had it, for its beautiful nib and exquisite body. I think writing is something similar. Even though I can’t write well, a good piece of writing reads smoothly and gives you a different feeling of interest every time you read it. Plus, if it’s written about fountain pens, a fountain pen enthusiast lik...

VOL.82 / 2025.05

[TREND / TOPIC]

The Era of High Exchange Rates and the Korean Publishing Market

Topic The Era of High Exchange Rates and the Korean Publishing Market Readers ultimately respond to good content 2025.04.07 The structure of the Korean publishing market and translation-oriented publishing in the 1990s I vividly remember the days when the Asian Financial Crisis hit Korea. The value of foreign currencies jumped one day. I waited for it to fall, but things didn’t go as expected. The value of foreign currencies continued to skyrocket, and the value of the Korean won plummeted. This was the situation in 1997. Until then, the Korean publishing market had been heavily dependent on importing translation rights to titles that could compete in Korea from overseas markets, mainly Japan and the English-speaking countries. In this climate, Korea was hit by the era of high exchange rates. By the time we had to pay the advance for a title contracted at 800 won per dollar, the exchange rate had nearly doubled to 1,600 won per ...

VOL.81 / 2025.04

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

A Utopia for Travelers Who Love Romance and Art: Paris

Special Project [New Ways of Walking Through Cities ④] A Utopia for TravelersWho Love Romance and Art: Paris 2025.04.07 From the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, Montmartre Hill, and Notre Dame Cathedral, to the Etoile Arc de Triomphe, Luxembourg Park, the Seine and Pont Neuf bridge, and the Palace of Versailles, Paris is an incredible landmark in itself. It is a romantic city full of travelers from all over the world and a place where you can breathe in the scent of art. It is also a city of revolutions, with the French Revolution and the Paris Commune demonstrating the power of popular uprisings, and today, it is a charming place where Parisians live their lives in peace and freedom.Paris, the world’s cultural and artistic epicenter, is a city that has enriched and stimulated artists’ sensibilities from the Middle Ages to the present day, and is a mecca for those who wish to appre...

VOL.81 / 2025.04

VOL.92/2026.03

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