K-Book Trends -

Search word : "POD", Search result : 37

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

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 / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

A Doctor’s “Health Book” on Diagnosis and Care for What Ails Korean Society Today

One-Liner Quotes A Doctor’s “Health Book” on Diagnosis andCare for What Ails Korean Society Today Healthy Bookstore Manager’s Pick 2024.07.01 Kim Min-Jung is the manager of “11ho1,” a “healthy bookstore” where you can discover and exchange thoughts about health in everyday life. “I see the limitations of modern medicine almost every day as a physician. No matter how advanced medical science gets, it will never be omnipotent.” This is the story of an 80-year-old practicing physician I met in a bookstore a few years ago. It was somewhat surprising to hear a senior doctor with nearly 60 years of clinical and research experience at a medical school comment on the limitations of modern medicine. It was not only that: many of the doctors I met through books in my bookstore were concerned with narratives that extend beyond numbers, towards society outside the small clinic. That is how I came to realize that our health and healthy...

VOL.72 / 2024.07

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Korea Today and the Charm of Korean Culture

Special Project [English Books in Korea ①] Korea Today and the Charm of Korean Culture 2024.06.03 I’m pleased to be able to introduce the English edition of my book about Korea through this interview. This is because such an opportunity does not come around often, and because through this, I can draw the attention of the industry and readers in this harsh climate where the number of English books about Korea is decreasing rather than increasing.One keyword that automatically comes to mind when you think of English books about Korea is “Kinokuniya” bookstores in Japan. I was literally overwhelmed by the number of English books about Japan that I saw at Kinokuniya Bookstore in Japantown, San Francisco, US. On the other hand, the number of English books published in Korea is far too little, and the fields are focused on culture and language, with very few on economics, society, practical skills, and people. What’s more, the number of titles is shrinking.M...

VOL.71 / 2024.06

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

How are Regional Publishers in Korea Thriving?

Publishing Industry How are Regional Publishers in Korea Thriving? Cooperation of local publishers seen through the Somewhere, Someone series 2023.03.13 I’m living in a village by the ocean in Goseong County, Gangwon-do Province. The first thing I do in the morning is take a walk on the shore in front of the village with my dog. Once I reach the shore, I take off the leash for him to move around freely, and check orders from bookstores on a number of applications. Sometimes, I sit in a corner, enter the logistics website, and start my morning work. Spending 3-4 minutes typing in the number of books and the name of the warehouse for the day is the most important task. Then, I put my dog back on the leash again, and head home.This was a dream 10 years back. Back then, the facsimile in one corner of the publishi...

VOL.56 / 2023.03

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

“PDF/POD” - Korean Publishing Market Develop into Diverse Formats

Publishing Industry “PDF/POD” - Korean Publishing MarketDevelop into Diverse Formats 2023.02.20 The interesting promotional text of a self-published e-book, How to Write a Profit Generating E-Book, by writer Yoo Sung-Woo says, “The secret to earning 500 million won with a 10-page PDF e-book” on the page of a crowdfunding platform Wadiz. The book successfully raised hundreds of million won of funding. Before the book was introduced to Wadiz, it was released on freelancer matching platforms, like Kmong, Taling, and Class 101, accumulating more than 500 million won in revenue. Though the book was not officially published in the market, and considering that selling 10,000 copies of a book was regarded as half of a success in the prolonged recession for publishers, an individual book recording such revenue was unprecedented. An increasing number of people collect and sell thei...

VOL.55 / 2023.02

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The Rise of Literary Agencies

The Rise of Literary Agencies 2021.06.07 There are not many literary agencies in Korea. Most of the publishers prefer working directly with authors over cooperating with agencies. It was common for publishers to think that it is safer to pay more of an advance to overseas writers who have already finished writing their manuscript or are expected to finish them soon rather than domestic writers who have not yet completed their manuscript.The most significant characteristic of the Korean publishing industry would be “diversity.” The system in which up to 6 thousand small- and medium-sized publishers make more than 80 thousand physical titles each year has greatly diversified the types of books published in Korea, but the limited average sales of each title was an expected outcome. In such an environment, it is difficult to invest a sufficient amount of development fee for each title. Hence, even though the literary agent succeeded in discovering fine manuscripts or o...

VOL.35 / 2021.06

[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

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Korea’s Audiobook Industry Ready to Fly in 2021

Korea’s Audiobook Industry Ready to Fly in 2021 The ongoing rapid evolution and development of the audiobook industry in Korea 2021.03.08 The most striking news in the new year was Influential, the operating company of an audiobook service platform ‘welaaa’, succeeding in winning 25 billion won worth of Series C sole investment from UTC Investment. This is after another mega-investment in 2020, where it attracted 13.5 billion won worth of Series B investment. Such a fast and massive investment implies that the future of the audiobook industry in Korea is rosy indeed. The domestic e-book industry says that the audiobook market's size has reached 30 billion won in 2020 and is likely to hit 60 billion won in 2021, which is nearly double the size. The audiobook market in Korea was formed in the early 2000s, but its size was trivial, with 10 billion won worth volume even until 2018. Given that situation, it is worth paying attention to the movement th...

VOL.32 / 2021.03

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

South Korea's publishing market and distribution structure

South Korea's publishing market and distribution structure 2019.12.09 South Korea's publishing market can be divided into three categories: book publishing (paper media publishing), educational publishing (textbooks and educational material publishing) and internet/mobile digital publishing and production. When taken as a whole, publishing sales stood at 4.0078 trillion won in 2010 and rose 8.2 percent to 4.3388 trillion won in 2017, showing an average growth of 1.1 percent each year in between. A characteristic of South Korea's publishing market is that educational content accounts for a huge piece of it. From 2010 to 2017, educational publishing has seen an average 1.8 percent in growth while paper book sales have seen an average decline of 2.6 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, e-books have seen sharp growth, with sales jumping 17 percent on average each year from 2010 to 2017. A characteristic of South Korea's publishing market is that educational co...

VOL.18 / 2019.12

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South Korea's Imprint System in Publishing

South Korea's Imprint System in Publishing 2019.10.07 Most well-known South Korean publishers have several imprints (independent brands under the same publishing house). This number can go up to double-digits for large publishing houses, while smaller publishers' number of imprints is usually in the single-digit range. Imprints are a way for publishers to expand their publishing range as well as the size of their business and improve profits. Around 2005, the number of imprints grew rapidly in South Korea, and this trend was led by Woongjin Thinkbig, which managed more than 30 imprints at one point. They had a publishing system where they would recruit well-known people from the industry, like directors or editors, give them high wages and place them in charge of imprints. After looking at their performance for two years, the company would decide whether to extend their contract or not. In addition to Woongjin, Minumsa, 21st Century Books and Wisdom House, which...

VOL.16 / 2019.10

VOL.77/2024.12

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