VOL.81/2025.04

3rd Week, January 2025

Best seller Trends in the Three Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2025.02.17

It’s the third week of January, the height of winter, but the weather in Korea is still milder than usual. Meanwhile, it was a time of confusion as various social issues continued, and thus, it was also a time to read books to calm the mind and develop the strength to make more accurate and rational judgments.
While Han Kang’s Human Acts still holds firm at the top of the best seller list, there were several changes in the overall rankings, possibly reflecting the start of a new year. Perhaps inspired by the new year’s resolutions and the desire to study harder, Choi Tae-Sung’s Korean History Exam 2025: Advanced (Level 1, 2, 3) Vol. 1 and 2 by Choi Tae-Sung, one of the leading instructors of Korean history, came in third and fourth. These books are the bible for test takers who want to prepare for the Korean History Proficiency Test as they are well organized and concise. Also, Hackers TOEIC Vocabulary: TOEIC VOCA, a prep book for TOEIC, ranked ninth, indicating that the “cramming mode” is making a big impact on the publishing market. In the business category, US Stocks Investment Bible, which quickly took the fifth spot, is a book designed for individual investors who often see profits come and go, and feel anxious and nervous when picking stocks. It offers practical information for investors on all aspects of investing in the US stock market.
The political turbulence in Korea has been a powerful motivator for people to pick up relevant books. The desire to make rational judgments about politicians and to understand the Constitution has brought them to bookstores. For example, Noh Han-Dong’s The Lie That You are Working for Your Country, which topped the best seller list in the political and social category, is a book written by a former secretary official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism that offers a sharp analysis of the public service. Also, Constitution Transcribing Note, which came in at third place, enhances people’s understanding of the Korean Constitution by guiding them through the process of reading and writing it correctly. The fourth-place book, Between Light Revolution and Counter-Revolution, philosophically analyzes, criticizes, and draws attention to political issues that have emerged as the most sensitive and serious problems of our time.

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

Top 10 best sellers for the 3rd week of January
1		Human Acts Author│Han Kang Publisher│Changbi Publishers Genre│Fiction
2		The Buddha’s Voice Reinterpreted in Modern Words Author│Ryunosuke Koike Publisher│Forest Books Genre│Humanities
3		Choi Tae-Sung’s Korean History Exam 2025: Advanced (Level 1, 2, 3) Vol. 1 Author│Choi Tae-Sung Publisher│ETOOS Genre│Exam
4		Choi Tae-Sung’s Korean History Exam 2025: Advanced (Level 1, 2, 3) Vol. 2 Author│Choi Tae-Sung Publisher│ETOOS Genre│Exam
5		We Do Not Part Author│Han Kang Publisher│Munhakdongne Genre│Fiction
5		US Stocks Investment Bible Author│Choi Cheol Publisher│Golden Owl Genre│Business
7		The Vegetarian Author│Han Kang Publisher│Changbi Publishers Genre│Fiction
7		One Piece 110 Author│EIICHIRO ODA Publisher│Daewon C.I. Genre│Humanities
9		Hackers TOEIC Vocabulary: TOEIC VOCA Author│David Cho Publisher│Hackers Education Group Genre│Foreign Language
10		Adult Happiness is Quiet Author│Taesoo Publisher│Page 2 Books Genre│Poetry / Non-fiction

 

Top 5 politics/society books for the 3rd week of Janaury
1		The Lie That You are Working for Your Country Author│Noh Han-Dong Publisher│Sideways Publishing
2		Nexus Author│Yuval Noah Harari Publisher│Gimm-Young Publishers
3		Constitution Transcribing Note Author│The Republic of Korea Publisher│The Human
4		Between Light Revolution and Counter-Revolution Author│Park Gu-Yong Publisher│Poemoon
5		Atlas of Finance Author│Dariusz Wojcik Publisher│Willbooks
5		Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education Author│Salman Khan Publisher│RH Korea