VOL.78/2025.01

1st Week, November 2024

Best seller Trends in the Three Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2024.12.02

It’s the first week of November in Korea, where the late fall scenery is at its peak. In the midst of a great season for reading, the overall reading boom has been spearheaded by Han Kang, an acclaimed writer in Korea. The afterglow of her Nobel Prize in Literature has hardly faded, and her novels have continued to dominate the best seller lists this month following on from last month. For example, readers’ hearts have continued to be mesmerized by Human Acts, which hit the number one spot in all 3 online bookstores following last month. This was followed by The Vegetarian, which was adapted into a play in France and attracted even more attention, and We Do Not Part, the most up-to-date title, came in third. In addition, her The White Book, I Put the Evening in the Drawer, and Greek Lessons, which sparked a reading frenzy, also made the best seller list.
After the US presidential election, which was at the center of global attention, the so-called “Trump effect” carried over to the bookstores. The book Trump 2.0 Era immediately rose to fourth place on the best seller list, with the author, an economic expert, providing precise analysis on how to turn “Trump Risk” into “Trump Chance.” Another book that makes it to the best seller list every year at the end of the year, Trend Korea 2025, remained steadfast in the eighth spot. Renowned for its comprehensive diagnosis of various sectors of society and sharp insights and analysis of Korean trends, Trend Korea 2025 has become a must-read in the business arena.
People’s interest in cookbooks rose with “Culinary Class Wars,” a Korean survival cooking show released on Netflix that drew global attention. The No. 1 among the bestselling cookbooks was Choi Kang-Rok’s Recipe Note, which is a cooking essay by chef Choi Kang-Rok, who was a participant in the show and is currently running a cooking channel on YouTube. It is not just a compilation of recipes or an introduction to good restaurants – it explains details about “ingredients and taste.” Plus, readers’ other cookbook picks were Bbibbo Bbibbo Simple & Healthy Baby Food Recipes, Bbuni Topping Baby Food, and Oozoo Mom’s Healthy Baby Food All Year Round, most of which were books where readers can find information about baby food. This indicates Korean readers’ great interest in children’s health.

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

Top 10 best sellers for the 1st week of November
1		Human Acts Author│Han Kang Publisher│Changbi Publishers Genre│Fiction
2		The Vegetarian Author│Han Kang Publisher│Changbi Publishers Genre│Fiction
3		We Do Not Part Author│Han Kang Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
4		Trump 2.0 Era Author│Park Jong-Hoon Publisher│Glopus Genre│Business
5		The White Book Author│Han Kang Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
6		I Put the Evening in the Drawer Author│Han Kang Publisher│Moonji Books Genre│Poetry
7		Greek Lessons Author│Han Kang Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
8		Trend Korea 2025 Author│Kim Nan-Do Publisher│Mirae Books Genre│Business
9		My S-Class Hunters Author│Geunseo Publisher│JAYPLEMEDIA Genre│Fiction
10		Tokyo Aliens 9 Author│NAOE Publisher│Seoul Media Comics Genre│Comics

 

Top 5 cookbooks for the 1st week of November
1		Choi Kang-Rok’s Recipe Note Author│Choi Kang-Rok Publisher│Teul
2		The Food Lab Author│J. Kenji Lopez Publisher│Youngjin.com
3		Bbibbo bbibbo Simple & Healthy Baby Food Recipes Author│Ha Jung-Hoon Publisher│Yuni Chaekbang
3		Bbuni Topping Baby Food Author│Jung Ju-Hee Publisher│Saseowon
5		Oozoo Mom’s Healthy Baby Food All Year Round Author│Kim Seul-Ki Publisher│Sam & Parkers