VOL.69/2024.04

2nd Week, March 2023

Best seller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2023.04.03

It’s March - spring has come in Korea, but the weather is yet chilly. Here, heartwarming books that soothe readers’ hearts have been receiving much love. For example, professor Kim Joo-Hwan, the first person to discuss the norm of “resilience” in Korea, introduces ways to prevent our minds from being hurt through the book Inner Communication. With scientific evidence for training mental muscles that help us easily overcome failure, the book suggests the path to a happy life. Also, writer Kim Sang-Hyun’s You Can Do Anything, After All, made an astonishing sales record of 100 thousand copies, proving its popularity among readers. This book offers warm condolences to those frustrated by failure and trials and errors.
Meanwhile, a book of an entirely different genre stood among the top 10 best sellers with a cute cat on its cover. The book Jeju Cat Heek’s Life Journal is an essay about cat Heek’s life on Jeju Island. Heek is a popular cat on Instagram, capturing the hearts of many for its cuteness. So why not find out more about Heek’s life moments that were not shared on Instagram? Also, Kkamnyang, the Problem Solver, a beloved children’s book series, returned with its fifth volume. The latest volume presents humorous stories about a black cat named Kkamnyang, who becomes a convenience store staff member.
In the art category, art interpreter Tak Hyeon-Gyu’s Joseon Art Museum ranked 1st. The writer, who is regarded as the No.1 interpreter in the world of ancient art, analyzes art pieces depicting the cultural renaissance period of the Joseon Dynasty and introduces the delicate artistic organization of the then artists. There’s another book that invites readers to the world of artworks. Also, Lee So-Young, the so-called “art messenger” who drew great attention after appearing on tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block,” wrote One Page a Day, Daily Art. So, how about drawing a “picture of our life” while meeting art pieces and their stories?

* K-Book Trends Vol. 57 – Go to the article about Joseon Art Museum

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

Top 10 best sellers for the 2nd week of March
1		Sayno Love Author│Sayno Publisher│Day One Genre│Self-help
2		Kim Mikyung’s Life Lesson for those in Their Forties Author│Kim Mi-Kyung Publisher│Awake Books Genre│Self-help
3		Success Rules of Top 1% Author│Saito Hitori Publisher│Navi School Genre│Self-help
4		K-Battery Revolution Author│Park Soon-Hyuk Publisher│Jiwain Genre│Business
5		Timing to Buy, Sell, and Make a Fortune Author│Kang Young-Hyun Publisher│Book 21 Genre│Business
6		Inner Communication Author│Kim Joo-Hwan Publisher│Influential Genre│Humanities
7		If I Were to Re-live My Life (Special edition commemorating 100 thousand copies sold) Author│Kim Hye-Nam Publisher│Maven Genre│Humanities
7		You Can Do Anything, After All (Special re-cover edition commemorating 100 thousand copies sold) Author│Kim Sang-Hyun Publisher│Feelm Genre│Non-fiction
7		Jeju Cat Heek’s Life Journal Author│Lee Sin-Ah Publisher│Catstory Genre│Non-fiction
10		Kkamnyang, the Problem Solver 5 Author│Hong Min-Jung, Kim Jae-Hee Publisher│Changbi Genre│Children

 

Top 5 art books for the 2nd week of March
1		Joseon Art Museum Author│Tak Hyeon-Gyu Publisher│Blackfish
2		One Page a Day, Daily Art Author│Lee So-Young Publisher│RH Korea
3		Bienenue au Paradis Author│Bernard Werber Publisher│Openbooks
4		An Art Museum in the Corner of a Room Author│Cho Won-Jae Publisher│Blackfish
5		ROMANCE Author│Gamram Publisher│Terracotta