K-Book Trends -

Search word : "non-fiction", Search result : 183

[TREND / TOPIC]

60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and Japan: Today and Tomorrow of the Publishing Trade

Topic 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations betweenKorea and Japan: Today and Tomorrow of the Publishing Trade 2025.06.02 This year marks the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation (1910-1945) and the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries since 1965, when they restored diplomatic relations. In Korea, there is a tradition of celebrating the 60th birthday of a person with great festivity, and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries is also considered an important milestone. As such, while various commemorative events are taking place, the publishing sector will be organizing Korean book exhibitions, exchanges between Korean and Japanese authors and publishers, and special sales of translated Korean books in Japanese bookstores in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promo...

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 / 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 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 / EXPORT CASE]

A New Chapter in Korea-China Literary Exchange

Export Case A New Chapter in Korea-China Literary Exchange Folio Culture’s Korean Book Localization Strategy 2025.03.10 Folio Culture (Beijing) has consistently focused on introducing and localizing Korean books in the fields of humanities, social sciences, and literature. In recent years, we have successfully brought several Korean works to the Chinese market through precise topic selection, cultural adaptation, and innovative promotion strategies, sparking widespread discussions on the social media platform Xiaohongshu. Below, we share our experiences in four key areas: topic selection strategy, localization practices, promotion strategy, and future plans. Balancing Social Issues with Literary Value, Grounded in Shared East Asian Emotions, to Create a Dialogue Space for Chinese and Korean Youth Capturing Social Resonance Points in Korean Literature In recent years, Korean literature has shifted from grand narrati...

VOL.80 / 2025.03

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

Spreading Its Wings To the World: The Seoul Letter Shop

Export Case Spreading Its Wings To the World: The Seoul Letter Shop 2025.01.06 On October 12, 2023, I received an email from Shinwon Agency, Korea’s first copyright export agency. They wanted to meet me at the Frankfurt Book Fair. I was going to be there, so we agreed to meet on October 19. This was about a month after I had sent them a cold email looking for an export partner. Within that month, I sent them a cover letter for my publishing house, met with them to introduce my publication lineup, and passed on additional materials about the works they were interested in. Among them was a proposal for The Seoul Letter Shop (TXTY), including a synopsis.It felt interesting and fateful that two Korean companies would be meeting in Frankfurt on October 19, 2023, to talk about working together. Shinwon said that there was a lot of interest from Anglo-American partner agencies and offered an exclusive agreement for The Seoul Letter Shop. I was flabbe...

VOL.78 / 2025.01

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

New Trends in Korean Literature

Export Case New Trends in Korean Literature 2024.10.07 It’s important to be ahead of the pack in global publishing; to find the new trends and to be future looking in order to be successful. I have always been an explorer, a seeker of the new, while travelling professionally and personally, and that has led me to discover Korean literature more than a decade ago. The first books to break through were literary masterpieces Please Look After Mom (Changbi Publishers) by Shin Kyung-Sook and The Vegetarian (Changbi Publishers) by Han Kang. After the initial introduction of Korean books to global readers who had never heard of them, let alone read them, I introduced mysteries and thrillers which are already super popular in the World English and global markets. So, readers of Steig Larrsen’s mega-bestseller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, devoured Jeong You-Jeong’s The Good Son (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing). J.M. Lee’s The Investigation (EunHae...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[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

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

More and More Chinese Readers Are Starting to Pay Attention to Korean Literature

Export Case More and More Chinese Readers Are Starting toPay Attention to Korean Literature 2024.03.11 First, let me introduce Xiron Books. Xiron Books is one of the representative brands of China’s mass book companies, and it is also one of the book brands widely loved by readers. Xiron Books always adheres to the value of “good book = social value + cultural value + commercial value” and is committed to providing “good copyright, good content, and good products.” Xiron’s first publication of Korean literature was Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 (Minumsa), a Korean novel published in simplified Chinese in 2019, which portrays various issues women may encounter through the life of the protagonist Kim Ji-young. In the increasingly heated gender discourse, it quickly became a bestseller.Starting with Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, in recent years, Xiron has established a Korean literature editing studio, publishing The Crucible (Changbi) in 2020, Please Lo...

VOL.68 / 2024.03

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

A Call for an Evolutionary Level of Imagination: Replacement of Dominant Species

Publishing Industry A Call for an Evolutionary Level of Imagination:Replacement of Dominant Species Current status of author management in Korea 2024.02.19 Korea’s Greenbook Agency (CEO Toni Shi-Hyoung Kim) was one of the earliest adopters of the concept of author management. It was originally founded in 2006 as an agency specializing in the international trade of publishing rights. All of its executives, including CEO Kim, are former publishing professionals or translators, and the company has completed more than 1,000 copyright deals. In 2017, the company launched its author management business by signing an exclusive contract with Kim Bo-Young, a major Korean SF writer. Since then, it has signed award-winning fiction and non-fiction writers such as Bora Chung, Djuna, Park Seo-Ryun, Kim Hyun-Jin, Shim Wan-Sun, and Kim Joo...

VOL.67 / 2024.02

VOL.83/2025.06

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