VOL.74/2024.09

2nd Week, August 2023

Bestseller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2023.09.04

August in South Korea can be a challenging month with hot days, but it’s also exciting for students and office workers as it means summer break and vacations. A variety of books for different tastes made it to the integrated list of bestsellers with summer vacations coming up, but two fiction titles stood out. The fourth on the list, Even with the Dimmest Light, is a new novel by Choi Eun-Young, who enters the 10th year of her career this year. The book, consisting of seven mid- to full-length stories, received comments that it reads like a long letter written by the author, which makes it immersive and compelling. Another book, a full-length novel, The Rainbow Goblin Store, came in ninth place. The book, which was exported to six countries before publication, has been highly anticipated not only in Korea but also around the world. Let’s go on an adventure together into a strange store that opens on rainy days as is the summer is so hot and humid because of frequent rains!
Some books where you can recognize the author by the cover also made it onto the integrated list of bestsellers. A Man of Liberal Arts Studies Science, ranked third, is a book by Rhyu Si-Min, who was once a politician and has made many appearances on television as a critic. The book is considered to have written a new paradigm of liberal arts by combining science and humanities with the author’s unique writing style. The book It Can Happen, an essay by Korean singer Yang Hui-Eun, was ranked seventh. As a new title released 2 years after the previous book Let Them Do (Gimm-Young Publishers), It Can Happen provides readers with deep comfort and warm support as much as her songs and voice.
Among the top five bestsellers in the children’s category, The Promise, a children’s poem collection, topped the list. This book is a collection of memories of a nine-year-old boy who lost his mother, based on the writer’s own story. As the book is not just about the pain that the author, an elementary school student, is going through, but about how he tries to remember the people he cares about the most, it has gained a lot of empathy and understanding from readers. Meanwhile, two books by Common Siblings, a bestselling author in the children’s category, also ranked high on the list. The book Common Siblings: Spooky Story 1 features the theme of “stories that are scary once understood,” and contains a series of chilling and comical episodes that will make you feel cool for a while in the hot summer.

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

Top 10 bestsellers for the 2nd week of August
1		American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer Author│Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin Publisher│Science Books Genre│Science
2		Sayno Love Author│Sayno Publisher│Day One Genre│Self-help
3		A Man of Liberal Arts Studies Science Author│Rhyu Si-Min Publisher│Dolbegae Genre│Humanities
4		Even with the Dimmest Light Author│Choi Eun-Young Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
5		Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention Author│Johann Hari Publisher│Across Genre│Humanities
6		The Moment When Studying Becomes Fun (special edition commemorating 500 thousand copies sold) Author│Park Sung-Hyuk Publisher│Dasan Books Genre│Young Adult, Education
7		It Can Happen Author│Yang Hui-Eun Publisher│Gimm-Young Publishers Genre│Non-fiction
7		Counter Your Life (extended edition) Author│Jachung Publisher│Woongjin Jisik House Genre│Self-help
9		The Rainbow Goblin Store Author│Yoo Young-Kwang Publisher│Clay House Genre│Fiction
9		Thus It is as Follows Author│Miyuki Miyabe Publisher│Book Sphere Genre│Fiction

 

Top 5 children’s books for the 2nd week of August
1		The Promise Author│Min Si-Woo Publisher│Gasse
2		Common Siblings: Spooky Story 1 Author│Lee Jong-Hyuk Publisher│Mirae N (I-Seum)
3		Common Siblings’ Science Expedition 8: Biology 2 Author│Hunhan Nammae Publisher│Gimm-Young Junior
4		The Mysterious Candy Store 18 Author│Reiko Hiroshima Publisher│Gilbut School
5		Maizy Chen’s Last Chance Author│Lisa Yee Publisher│Wisdom House