Korean Publishers
Kungree Press Exploring a Beautiful Journey with Readers
2021.12.06
It is fundamental to pursue a future through genuine learning and deliberation in order to cultivate values. This is especially true for making books that greatly influence people’s lives. Kungree Press, a Korean publishing company with a long-standing foothold in the field and expertise in human science, arts, and literature, is exploring the role of books and the way forward for publication by broadening the horizon of books to offer more quality reading. The publishing company is leading the future of the publishing industry with multiple awards and support from readers by publishing outstanding books after deliberation. For Kungree Press, tomorrow is more enriching than today.
Logo of Kungree Press
Please introduce what Kungree Press does to those in the overseas publishing industry. Also, what is the meaning of “Kungree” from the company name?
The name “Kungree” means “nothing is more important than deliberating to learn and master knowledge, and the value of deliberation should lie in reading.” It originates from The Zhuzi yulei, a medieval Chinese text containing discussions between neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi and his disciples. According to Kim Dong-Kwang, a sociologist of science who named the publishing company, “Gwahag” (meaning science) took its original name from “Kungree scholar” and was called “Kungree” before it was later called “Gwahag” by the Japanese. In its early days, Kungree Press published books mainly in natural science. Today, it releases books in more diverse fields after expanding its scope to the humanities, arts, and literature.
We are committed to making books that can travel a long journey together.
Kungree Press has many notable achievements, such as expanding to diverse fields after the initial focus on natural science. Over 150 books of its own were designated as excellent books by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. So, where does its strength come from, and what is the competitive edge of Kungree Press?
We think that we are more into long-lived steady seller books rather than focusing on short-lived bestselling books. So, we are seeking to publish books that can live long with us. Our readers are mostly teenagers, reading our books in science and mathematics. So we work to seek their thoughts on what subjects they learn and what stories and voices they want. If I have to point out what we value at these bad times, it is to publish books that make the voices of those left behind heard, which have long been unattended.
As Kungree Press is expanding to diverse genres, it must have many thoughts about its identity as a publishing company. Of course, it’s not ideal for a publishing company to focus too much on one field. But, while expanding into diverse fields, there must have been worries about its direction and expertise. How did you settle this matter?
Many readers still see us as a publishing company specialized in science and mathematics. But, nowadays, some think that we are publishing books with a theme of “plant.” We are working hard to make better books by reflecting on reader’s feedback and regularly publishing books in new fields to impress our readers.
The Pi Maze, Euler Paradox, Discovering Gardening
Indigo Seowon - Study is the door to justice, Reading of co-existence in Indigo Seowon
There are many books designated as excellent books by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Among them, which one Kungree Press would like to recommend and why?
If we have to choose books revealing our identity, we might choose science classics such as Double Helix, Chance and Necessity, What is Life, and mathematical fictions like The Pi Maze and Euler Paradox written by mathematics teacher Kim Sang-Mi. Also, we’d pick various liberal arts books for teenagers written by “Indigo Seowon,” a humanities bookstore for teenagers, and Discovering Gardening, Discovering of Plant Design, written by garden designer Oh Kyung-Ah. We are working to make sought-after books while regularly publishing books on a specific topic to create a synergy effect.
Kungree Press’s recent books, including Young Paperhanger Story, Discovering of Plant Design, are gaining a lot of attention. As a publishing company acknowledged in artistic quality and popularity, please share with us what Kungree Press values most in publishing.
Young Paperhanger Story was received well as a book redefining work and life. And, the author got a lot of invitations for speeches about career guidance, especially from middle and high schools. The author Bae Yoon-Seul is busy advising teenagers while taking time out of a tight work schedule. Oh Kyung-Ah, author of the book Discovering of Plant Design, was credited with ushering in a world of gardening, and she is also offering help after the coronavirus. As proven in these examples, Kungree Press seeks to find a subject to raise questions about a new topic (agenda) to our society and listen to those exploring uncharted territory.
The author of Young Paperhanger Story, Bae Yoon-Seul, recently got a lot of attention after appearing on a famous TV show. Would you please share more about the author and the book?
In recent years, professional essays written by young people have been steadily published. Among them is Young Paperhanger Story that shares the author’s hands-on experience as a paperhanger. While working in a social welfare center for 2 years after college, she deeply felt skeptical towards the irrationality of organization, which made her decide to quit the job and started exploring her genuine job that enables her to support herself and family and that she can endure for a long time. The author Bae Yoon-Seul consistently wrote for two years how she worked as a woman in “papering,” a field that is familiar but little known to many of us. The book was also well received by teenagers.
Young Paperhanger Story, Discovering of Plant Design
Kungree Press is known for giving a lot of thought to its social and cultural responsibility. It is assumed that such thoughts eventually lead to its philosophy and thus affect its direction in publishing books. So what does Kungree Press want to pursue in future?
We intend to deliver to our readers more stories of those not heard and left behind, many of which are hidden behind the bright side of society, relating to education, family, and coming of age. But, the intention is not always easy to materialize. However, we believe that our attempts will eventually create small changes forming a wavelength just like the butterfly effect.
We intend to deliver more stories of those not heard and left behind to our readers.
Kungree Press is apparently publishing various books to the extent of invigorating the publishing market, and its attempts are getting attention. However, what kind of effort is Kungree Press making to strengthen its foothold overseas, and how does the overseas market react?
In recent years, when our new book was published, many agencies sent us e-mails requesting sample books. But, we have yet to achieve tangible outcomes, which motivates us to do more.
We’re looking forward to the next step of Kungree Press. What kind of goals does Kungree Press plan to walk toward, and what kind of growth does it intend to fulfill?
The publishing industry is indeed in the middle of a sudden change. And, the content industry entered the era of infinite competition quite a while ago. We will continue to try to imagine in various ways whether there is a way to further utilize the unique characteristics of the book, and what kind of derivative this book can be reborn as while it is being made. In this context, we will continue to explore various ways to revitalize the property of ‘book’ and what can be derived from publishing books.
Organized by Kim Young-Ihm
#Kungree Press#Human science#Natural science#Indigo Seowon#Young Paperhanger Story |
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