VOL.74/2024.09

Yanolja CEO Sujin Lee’s Restart Advances Into the UK

2024.09.02

Restart (Cloud 9), a nonfiction essay about Yanolja’s vision to become the “Global One Top Travel Tech Company,” has just been published in the UK. It is an autobiographical essay by Yanolja CEO Sujin Lee, who constantly writes “new legends” as he continues to establish himself as an icon of fortitude and success. The UK publisher of the book is LID Publishing, a company with a strong and unique presence at the center of global issues, which has been publishing books by various figures.
Restart is Sujin Lee’s 18-year business chronicle from 2005 - the year Yanolja was founded - to 2023, and the journey of Yanolja’s expansion from the number one accommodation company in Korea to a global company that is now creating a paradigm shift in the leisure and travel market. Subtitled “An entrepreneur’s journey from motel janitor to CEO of a global enterprise,” the book was first released in the UK as an e-book in May 2024, followed by a paperback in July. In August 2024, the book will also be available on bookshelves in the US.

In the case of Korean publications, the Anglo-American and European markets have been centered on fiction (literature), and the export of translation rights has been largely within that scope. As a result, there have been fewer overseas introductions of titles outside of the literary category, resulting in a relatively smaller translator pool than that of fiction (literature). However, there are many other notable categories in the Korean market besides literature, each with competitive titles in the global publishing market.
Ranging across Korean art, history, philosophy, religion, food, fashion, music, beauty, and more, there is a wealth of nonfiction titles that will appeal to both professionals and general readers alike. These range from biographies of successful global business leaders and their autobiographies, to self-help books by several bestselling authors who have inspired and motivated the general public.
Restart had a fully translated manuscript in English from the outset, and was looking for a good publisher with a good reputation that could gain interest in the English-speaking publishing market – that’s how they found LID Publishing. Since they had a complete manuscript rather than a sample English translation, the process of finding a publisher, having their translation reviewed, and deciding whether or not to proceed with a publishing deal could be done swiftly. The publishing deal was fully negotiated and finalized around the London Book Fair in March 2024. With the book’s English edition, it is expected to be actively reviewed in other language markets as well as selling translation rights in the future.
I would like to conclude this article by introducing some English testimonials about Restart below.

Written by Joseph Lee (President of KL Management)