VOL.69/2024.04

2nd Week, September 2022

Best seller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2022.10.04

The books that many readers have long awaited have made their way to the best seller list for the second week of September. For example, writer Jung Ji-Ah, who proved her literary value by winning numerous literary awards, returned with a full-length novel after 32 years. The book, Father's Liberation Diary, is a friendly tale that describes lightly, or rather humorously, a somewhat serious story combining family love with a painful history. Also, the book To You, Who is Bound to Succeed, is the first book written by former newscaster and Youtuber Choi Seo-Young, which has been long awaited by her 500k subscribers, captivating their hearts right after its publication. Including powerful motivational messages she gave on her YouTube channel, the book consoles her readers with compassionate understanding and down-to-earth advice to guide them through life.
Meanwhile, there were some books that returned to the shelves with a special edition and merchandise. For example, Debut or Die, a webnovel-based book, released goods limited to the first edition of the book. Both sets, one with the merchandise and one without, became best sellers, proving the book's popularity. A variety of limited edition merchandise captured the hearts of fans, as they added dimensions to the characters like real K-pop stars. Also, the book Counter Your Life, which has been keeping its place on the list for a long time, was newly published as a "fake edition" commemorating 100 thousand copies sold. Once you scrape the book's cover written "followers," you get to see its original cover with the writer's autograph inside. The fans were extra enthusiastic as five books of the edition included a "golden ticket," where they could have a meal with the writer.
For the best-selling teenage books for the second week of September, the book Welcome to the Storytelling Math Club by professor Kim Min-Hyung, a world-renowned mathematician, ranked first. Math is one of the subjects that a majority of teenagers find difficult or dislikeable. Professor Kim, who created a mathematics club after meeting students starting to study the complex parts of mathematics, described his experiences in the book, making mathematics a friendly topic. Meanwhile, the book 15-Years Old for 500 Years, ranking 5 on the list, has been regularly liked by adolescents since its publication in January of this year. Featuring the Dangun myth and old Korean stories, the novel makes the story more charming with various fantasy elements and an intriguing storyline, involving the main character, who lived as a 15-year-old kid for 500 years.

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

Top 10 best sellers for the 2nd week of September
1		Harbin Author│Kim Hoon Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
2		Counter Your Life (fake edition commemorating 100 thousand copies sold) Author│Jachung Publisher│Woongjin Jisik House Genre│Business
3		Uncanny Convenience Store 2 Author│Kim Ho-Yeon Publisher│Namu Bench Genre│Fiction
4		Father's Liberation Diary Author│Jung Ji-Ah Publisher│Changbi Genre│Fiction
5		Debut or Die (first edition with limited merchandise) Author│Baek Deok-Soo Publisher│Wish Books Genre│Fiction
6		Pachinko 2 Author│Lee Min-Jin Publisher│Influential Genre│Fiction
7		Uncanny Convenience Store Author│Kim Ho-Yeon Publisher│Namu Bench Genre│Fiction
8		To You, Who is Bound to Succeed Author│Choi Seo-Young Publisher│Book Romance Genre│Non-fiction
9		Debut or Die (first edition set) Author│Baek Deok-Soo Publisher│Wish Books Genre│Fiction
10		Pachinko 1 Author│Lee Min-Jin Publisher│Influential Genre│Fiction

 

Top 5 teenagers' books for the 2nd week of September
1		Welcome to the Storytelling Math Club Author│Kim Min-Hyung Publisher│Influential
1		I Will Cross Time for You Author│Lee Kkochnim Publisher│Munhakdongne Publishing Group
3		Art Museum of Consolation Author│Jin Byung-Kwan Publisher│Big Fish
3		Teenagers Bright in Environment and Ecology Author│Choi Won-Hyung Publisher│Pulbit
5		15 Years Old for 500 Years Author│Kim Hye-Jung Publisher│Wisdom House
5		Pilgrimage House Author│Yoo Eun-Sil Publisher│BIR