K-Book Trends - 2nd Week, November 2020

2nd Week, November 2020

Bestseller Trends in the Four Biggest Online Bookstores in Korea

2020.12.07

In the ranks of bestsellers announced by four major online bookstores in Korea for the second week of November, books that are keeping their place since last year catch our eyes. For example, the top bestseller See What They Mean, Say What You Mean is a reality-based guide book for parents to have the right conversations with their kid written by doctor Oh Eun Young, a national mentor for child-raising. And the second to the top was Trend Korea 2021, which has selected upcoming trends for 2021 with a sub-title “What is the strategy against the pandemic crisis?” Ranked third was Dollargut Dream Department Store, a fantasy novel about stories in a dream department where only those asleep are allowed to enter. As such, it is notable that the top three bestsellers are from different fields.
Meanwhile, some books are steady-sellers as well on the list. For example, The Property of Money features a philosophy about money that the writer offers to readers that want economic freedom. Ever since its publication in June, it has never come down from the list. Wearing a new cover marking the 100th printing, the book is ready to meet new readers. Also, as a series packed with intriguing stories, knowledge, fun, impressions, and lessons, Seol Min-Seok’s Korean History Adventure has been protecting its place on the list for children’s comics each time a new volume is released.
Among the new faces on the list, The Story of Art featuring art was released after its former series Korean History, produced by the same publisher, made a great hit this June. Also, HEAT is an essay written by Swings, a rapper in Korea, which talks about his rapper life where he ceaselessly takes on challenges. It was added to the bestsellers’ list after it began taking pre-orders before the official release. It seems that the recent popularity of hip-hop in Korea has worked as leverage for the book’s high sales.

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

Best sellers
1		*See What They Mean, Say What You Mean* Author \| Oh Eun Young Publisher \| Gimm-Young Publishers Inc. Genre \| Home & Childcare
2		*Trend Korea 2021* Author \| Kim Nam-Do, Jeon Mi-Young,Choi Ji-Hye, Lee Hyang-Eun, Lee Joon-Young, Lee Su-Jin, Seo Yu-Hyun, Kwon Jeong-Yoon, Han Da-Hye Publisher \| Miraebook Genre \| Economics & Business Administration
3		*Dollargut Dream Department Store* Author \| Lee Mi-Ye Publisher \| Factory Nine Genre \| Novel
4		*My Day Begins at 4:30 AM* Author \| Kim Yu-Jin Publisher \| Tornado Genre \| Self-development
5		*Poem of Mindfulness* Author \| Ryu Si-Hwa (edited) Publisher \| Suo Books Genre \| Poem
6		*The Property of Money (100th Print Special Edition)* Author \| Kim Seung-Ho Publisher \| Snowfox Books Genre \| Economics & Business Administration
7		*Seol Min-Seok’s Korean History Adventure 15* Author \| Seol Min-Seok, Storybox Publisher \| I-Human Genre \| Children’s Comics
8		*John Lee’s Breaking Out of Financial Illiteracy* Author \| John Lee Publisher \| Vegabooks Genre \| Economics & Business Administration
9		*HEAT* Author \| Swings Publisher \| Feelm Genre \| Essay
9		*The Story of Art* Author \| Kim Young-Sook Publisher \| B.able Genre \| Art