K-Book Trends -

Search word : "Secondhand Bookstore", Search result : 14

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Book Trip [Into the Book ⑧] Warm Hope in a Cold City Jongno-gu, Seoul: What’s still with us today 2024.03.11 One Hundred Shadows As I thought Mujae was somehow looking shady when he said, “Don’t follow shadows,” I strained my eyes and looked again, and there was a sunshower falling like a spider’s web. Hwang Jung-Eun’s first full-length novel, One Hundred Shadows (Changbi), is the story of Eunkyo and Mujae, two characters working in an electronics store in the center of the city. The cold cityscape and the old, desolate electronics mall are the backdrop of the novel, but the two protagonists’ youthful love story is what makes this novel so appealing, with just the right amount of heaviness and lightness. Also, the story of “shadows” in the title is not to be missed - the unrealistic occurrence of shadows rising up on their own is very familiar in the novel’s worldview. The separa...

VOL.68 / 2024.03

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Sales of key South Korean bookstores

Sales of key South Korean bookstores 2019.07.08 Today in many countries, online bookstores are a solid part of their publishing distribution networks. Up until the early 1990s, only physical bookstores of varying scale existed and readers' selection of books was based on book displays and how accessible the stores were. However, following the emergence of Amazon in 1995, online bookstores have solidified their position as key sales channels of the publishing industry in countries around the world. That change markedly took place in South Korea compared to other countries. After online bookstores first emerged in South Korea in 1997, they grew rapidly due to book discounts, with the fixed price policy largely ignored. Currently, the market share of online bookstores in the United States stands at 45 percent, France 20 percent, Germany 18 percent and Japan 15 percent. In South Korea, that number is higher than 50 percent. South...

VOL.13 / 2019.07

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Where the Children from the Book Children of Kwaeng-I-Bu-Ri Village Used to Play

Book Trip [Into the Book ①] Where the Children from the BookChildren of Kwaeng-I-Bu-Ri Village Used to Play Mansuk-dong, Dong-gu, Incheon: Time Travel with the Book 2023.08.07 Children of Kwaeng-I-Bu-Ri Village The Kwaeng-i-bu-ri Village is the oldest poor neighborhood in Incheon. (...)Over the years, the village turned from a forest of pine trees into a factory townfull of smokestacks and shanty houses. Children of Kwaeng-I-Bu-Ri Village (Changbi Publishers), published in 2000, is a children’s book featuring the life of twin sisters Sook-Hee (the main character) and Sook-Ja living in a poor daldongne neighborhood. The word “daldongne” means a poor village situated on the slopes of a hill in Korea, and it is said to have deriven from its proximity to the moon. It is widely known that Kim Jung-Mi, the writer, had once run a s...

VOL.61 / 2023.08

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Sehan Bookstore

Book Trip [Celeb’s Book Spot ③] Sehan Bookstore A Secondhand Bookstore Full of Unique Memories and Vibes 2023.04.03 We are living in an era where so many books are coming out every day. How we purchase books has evolved over time as well, and it has become common to see buying books from online bookstores whenever and wherever we are. Now, there’s an old bookstore surrounded by nature that has been off the changing trend, keeping the unique analog vibe and memories. It is Sehan Bookstore in Danyang. Established in Seoul in 1979, Sehan Bookstore moved to Danyang and has kept its place as a part of nature, serving as a house for many books.While the bookstore is located inside a quiet mountain, it became a beloved tourist spot after it was used to film the movie “Inside Men.” Visited by actor Cho Seung-Woo, cartoonist Lee Hyeon-Se, singer and MC Lim Baek-Cheon, and K-Pop idol group Golden Child, Sehan Bookstore has been playing the role of a tour...

VOL.57 / 2023.04

[TREND / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

Secondhand Bookstore Manager’s Pick

One-Liner Quotes Secondhand Bookstore Manager’s Pick 2022.05.02 Before I began to work at a secondhand bookstore, I used to visit Japan and have chats with people working at used bookstores. They were mostly on the books, but sometimes we moved on to talking about the language itself. If you think of a secondhand bookstore in Tokyo, the first regions that come to mind would be Jinbocho or Kanda. But after discovering that there are unique used bookstores around the central subway line, I traveled to the suburbs of Tokyo.Then, one day, a worker at a secondhand bookstore near the central subway asked me to recommend him a Korean book. The bookstore he was at was a popular spot for foreign students studying at nearby universities, most of whom are from different countries and are great fans of Korean dramas. So, taking this as a chance, he created a group with some like-minded customers to study the Korean language and wanted me to recommend a...

VOL.46 / 2022.05

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Haebangchon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Haebangchon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul Where Art and Culture Become a Romantic Story 2021.02.08 Haebangchon. A village established by compatriots and people who defected from North Korea after the liberalization of Korea in 1945. A village where painful national history transcends into art and culture through the flow of time. The past and present coexist in this village, Haebangchon. In the novel The Aimless Bullet, writer Lee Beom-Sun depicts Haebangchon as a hopeless place where no dreams or hope can be found. It was an area devastated by war suffering from poverty, frustration, and despair. However, today, Haebangchon has turned into a hot place for the young generation, as a place where moments from the past remain unchanged, evoking nostalgia with a drop of a modern vibe.Many visitors find Haebangchon for various reasons; they are looking for a nice dining place, a good spot for photos, or are drawn there by the quiet and peaceful atmosphere in the ...

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 / BOOK TRIP]

Songpa, Seoul

Songpa, Seoul “How To Love Books” of a Big City 2020.05.04 The 123-storey-high Lotte World Mall, Olympic Stadium where the 88 Seoul Olympics were held, Lotte World and Seokchon Lake, which are always crowded throughout the year. With such places to go and see, the time in Songpa-gu flows fast just like other big cities. Named after the lush pine trees growing in the city, Songpa-gu is now filled with high buildings and big apartment complexes – there are so many that the city is often called a “Building Forest.” Yet, if you look a little bit deeper inside, there are still places where you can find relaxation in your life. Discover joy among old and worn books Once you exit Jamsillaru station (line 2 of Seoul Subway), you will see a low but long building. It is “Seoul Treasure Den for Books”, a secondhand bookstore built by the Seoul Metropolitan City last March transforming an unused space. ⓒSeoul Treasure Den for Books ...

VOL.22 / 2020.05

[NEWS / PUBLISHING INDUSTRY]

South Korea's Major Online Bookstores

South Korea's Major Online Bookstores 2017.12.01 Online bookstores account for 30 percent of South Korea's total book distribution and sales. The largest bookstore companies of this kind include YES24, Aladin, Interpark and Kyobo Book Centre, which has a large offline base. They are the 'Big 4' and when including offline sales, Kyobo dominates, but when talking about just online book sales, YES24 is the current leader. After ‘Amazon.com’ emerged in the United States in 1995, global online book sales surged sharply and in South Korea, the first online bookstore appeared in 1997. Shortly after in the early 2000s, several more online bookstores entered the foray that had no offline base or store. Their growth over the following decade was astonishing. In 2009, sales reached an aggregate 1 trillion won before peaking in 2011. Internet bookstores have since shown fluctuation in sales repeatedly and this is where some explanation is needed. ...

VOL.7 / 2017.12

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Busan

Busan A City You Meet by walking its streets and crossing its bridges 2019.09.09 Busan. Frequently referred to as 'the second-largest city in South Korea' but these words don’t do the city justice. Of course, when it comes to objective data like population or the size of the economy, the description is true, but it would be regretful to leave the city's description at that single sentence, as Busan has its own unique culture. That uniqueness only grows in the oldest parts of the city. This is why one should walk through the streets and cross bridges to take a true look at Busan. Travel into layers of time The oldest and most cultural area of Busan is surely Bosu-dongA very old story that started during the time of the Korean War is continuing today. For the longest time, Busan served more as an industrial city than a travel destination. It is a port city that leads to the Pacific...

VOL.15 / 2019.09

VOL.69/2024.04

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