VOL.69/2024.04

2nd Week, May 2022

Bestseller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2022.06.07

In May 2022, the five-year term of President Moon Jae-in came to an end. As he took office under nationwide attention, books about him and his term were published, and four of them ranked in the integrated list of bestsellers for the 2nd week of May. For example, Moon Jae-In’s Consolation, Top 100 Speeches of President Moon Jae-In, Five Years of President Moon Jae-In (2 volumes), and The Fate of Moon Jae-In (2 volumes) are all books that were published after the end of his term. Their ranks show how much Korean readers are interested in their now former president. In particular, Moon Jae-In’s Consolation is an essay where the former president candidly talks about his feelings going back to an “enlightened citizen” from a president, which ranked first in the integrated list of bestsellers.
While books about former president Moon Jae-In have taken the most part among the top 10 bestsellers, new books of other genres, including non-fiction, fiction, and business, can also be found on the list. For example, Manage Your Feelings to Manage Your Life is a mind-soothing and encouraging essay written by songwriter and author Kim Da-Seul. In the book, writer Kim provides practical advice about managing our feelings that determine how the day will go. Also, Six Ways to Build Your Capacity for Success is a business book that introduces the writer’s secrets to growth which is “ought to succeed,” talking about his experience of running a kalguksu (Korean chopped noodles) restaurant that sells 100 bowls every minute, recording 12 billion won of yearly sales after starting with a small clothes shop. A young businessman and writer of the book Kim Seung-Hyun delivers a message to those that aim to open their own store that it is essential to “build the capacity for success.”
Meanwhile, Farewell, a new fiction, ranked 2nd on the integrated list of bestsellers and took 1st place among fiction books. The book Farewell is a full-length novel freshly written by Kim Young-Ha 9 years after his globally loved Diary of a Murderer (Bokbok Seoga). Taking the not-so-distant future as the background, readers can come across more in-depth thoughts and sharp, sophisticated sentences of Kim Young-Ha, a star writer in Korea. Also, writer Choi Eun-Young’s new title Don’t Push Yourself ranked 4th among bestselling fiction. The book is a short-story collection that delicately depicts friendship and love among the characters through heartwarming sentences. If you leisurely swim through the short, light stories, you will find yourself in good comfort without even noticing.

* The rank of bestsellers below was organized after integrating domestic best sellers in the second week of May from the four biggest online bookstores in Korea – Kyobo Bookstore, Aladdin, Yes 24, and Interpark.

Top 10 Bestsellers for the 2nd Week of May
1		Moon Jae-In’s Consolation Author│Moon Jae-In Publisher│Deohyumeon Genre│Non-fiction
2		Farewell Author│Kim Young-Ha Publisher│Bokbok Seoga Genre│Fiction
3		Top 100 Speeches of President Moon Jae-In Author│Deohyumeon Editors Publisher│Deohyumeon Genre│Politics / Society
4		Uncanny Convenience Store Author│Kim Ho-Yeon Publisher│Namu Bench Genre│Fiction
5		I May Be Wrong Author│Bjoern Natthiko Lindeblad Publisher│Dasan Chodang Genre│Humanities
6		Five Years of Moon Jae-In (2 volumes) Author│Deohyumeon Editors Publisher│Deohyumeon Genre│Politics / Society
7		The Fate of Moon Jae-In (2 volumes) Author│Moon Jae-In Publisher│Deohyumeon Genre│Politics / Society
8		Tokyo Revengers 25 Author│Ken Wakui Publisher│Haksan Publishing Genre│Comics
8		Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal (2022 Marigold Edition) Author│Potter Style Publisher│Tornado Genre│Self-help
10		Manage Your Feelings to Manage Your Life Author│Kim Da-Seul Publisher│Claudia Genre│Non-fiction
10		Six Ways to Build Your Capacity for Success Author│Kim Seung-Hyun Publisher│& Page Genre│Business

 

Top 5 Fiction for the 2nd Week of May
1		Farewell Author│Kim Young-Ha Publisher│Bokbok Seoga
2		Uncanny Convenience Store Author│Kim Ho-Yeon Publisher│Namu Bench
3		One Day, You Came to My Death Author│Seika Ryogen Publisher│Momo
4		Don’t Push Yourself Author│Written by Choi Eun-Young, illustrated by Kim Se-Hee Publisher│Woods of Mind’s Books
5		Welcome to Bookstore Hyunamdong Author│Hwang Bo-Reum Publisher│Clay House
5		The Stranger 3 Author│Seonmyeong Publisher│YOUNGCOM