VOL.77/2024.12

2nd Week, May 2024

Best seller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2024.06.03

May is known as the month of family in Korea, as there are many big and small holidays, such as Children’s Day and Parent’s Day. The 2nd week of May, especially with Children’s Day, was a great time to catch up on the books people have been meaning to read. As such, the integrated list of best sellers on major online bookstores in Korea for the week was dominated by business, self-help, and humanities books.
The first book on the list is No. 3, How to LIVE Your Life, about the writer’s belief that investing can bridge the gap between the rich and poor and reduce social inequality. The book is divided into 3 chapters, covering investment strategies, methods, and attitudes. Another self-help book by football coach Son Woong-Jung, the father of football player Son Heung-Min, who has been excelling at home and abroad, entered the top 10. Featuring Son Woong-Jung’s reading notes and several interviews with poet Kim Min-Jung, I Read, Write, and Throw Out is a heartwarming and humorous book that gives life lessons. Meanwhile, Yoo Sun-Kyung, the writer who shed light on the topic of vocabulary and literacy, has released a transcribing note, as her new book. One Page a Day: A Transcribing Note for Your Vocabulary is not just a book about transcription, but a practical guide that will help you improve your vocabulary, literacy, and concentration, as you practice transcription one page at a time.

* K-Book Trends Vol. 49 – Go to the interview with writer Yoo Sun-Kyung

The No. 1 and No. 2 of the top five best sellers in the children’s category for the 2nd week of May were books by well-known writers both in Korea and abroad. For example, Magic Candy Recipe by Baek Hee-Na, No. 1, is a spin-off of Magic Candies (Bear Books Inc.), which was loved by readers around the world, featuring a story of making magic candies following the previous story of eating them. It is a book that makes readers curious and enthralled to find out what story the magic candies, which enable you to listen to people’s minds, will tell this time. The No. 2 book, Carrot Grandma, is written by Bonsoir Lune, who has been praised by readers around the world for having a brilliant sensibility of Korean picture books in her works. It is a family-friendly picture book that the whole family can read and talk about together, conveying the love of a grandmother who wants to feed her children to the fullest.

* K-Book Trends Vol. 26 – Go to the interview with writer Baek Hee-Na

* The rank of best sellers 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 best sellers for the 2nd week of May
1		Understatement Author│Matthias Nöllke Publisher│First Penguin Genre│Self-help
2		Live English Conversation with Mr. Red Cap Author│Shin Yong-Ha Publisher│Woongjin Jisik House Genre│Foreign Language
3		How to LIVE Your Life Author│Lee Gwang-Soo Publisher│Eden House Genre│Business
4		Same as Ever Author│Morgan Housel Publisher│Seosamdok Genre│Business
5		Common Siblings 16 Author│Hunhan Nammae Publisher│Mirae N (I-Seum) Genre│Children’s Comics
5		I Read Brain Science When My Life Falters Author│Yuji Ikegaya Publisher│Hicks Genre│Humanities
7		Sayno Love Author│Sayno Publisher│Day One Genre│Self-help
8		I Read, Write, and Throw Out Author│Son Woong-Jung Publisher│Nanda Genre│Self-help
9		Don’t Need a Path of Flowers, My Life is a Flower Author│Oh Pyung-Seon Publisher│Forest Books Genre│Non-fiction
10		One Page a Day: A Transcribing Note for Your Vocabulary Author│Yoo Seon-Kyeong Publisher│Wisdom House Genre│Humanities
10		Reading Schopenhauer at Forty Author│Kang Yong-Soo Publisher│Uknowbooks Genre│Humanities

 

Top 5 children’s books for the 2nd week of May
1		Magic Candy Recipe Author│Baek Hee-Na Publisher│Story Bowl
2		Carrot Grandma Author│Bonsoir Lune Publisher│Changbi Publishers
3		The Not-So-Friendly Friend Author│Christina Furnival Publisher│Little Forest
4		100-story House in the Swamp Author│Toshio Iwai Publisher│Book Bank
4		I’m Happy When... Author│Annabel Segura Publisher│Orange Pencil