.jpg) People read books at Kyobo Bookstore in this file photo. The bookstore, which opened in 1981, has the longest running national bestseller list. / Korea Times file |
By Chung Ah-youngBestsellers mean more than the highest-selling titles as they are one of the easiest ways for readers to realize the cultural and social atmosphere and literary landscape of the time.
As the emergence of new media is overwhelming publishing markets and decreasing the population of readers some critics argue that printed material will lose ground in the fierce competition. Others say it is hard to give way to another medium as publication has a firm position as conventional means to deliver knowledge, thoughts and emotions.
With a mixed outlook for printed books in their traditional form, it is important to predict the future by looking through the path of the past.
“Bestsellers for 30 Years” written by Han Ki-ho, director of the Korean Publishing Marketing Research Institute, and published by Kyobo Bookstore not only traces some 300 books which were loved by readers of the time but also the direction the publishing market should go.
The nation’s first modern bookstore was Hoedong Seogwan in Namdaemunro, Junggu in Seoul in 1897. Although the history of modern bookstores goes back 114 years the Korean bestseller list began just 50 years ago, in 1962. When Jongno Bookstore, one of the largest and oldest bookstores, which was established in 1907, closed in 2002, Kyobo Bookstore, which opened in 1981, took over as the longest running bestseller list.
From 1981 to 1989, the top-selling titles reflected the desire for democracy to overcome harsh reality through poems and epic novels amid the severe oppression of the authoritarian government following the democratic movement in Gwangju in 1980. Author Kim Ji-ha’s “Burning Thirst” and Jo Jung-rae’s “Taebaek Mountain Range” are two representative works. Also, comforting lyrical works such as Suh Jung-yoon’s “Standing Alone” and Lee Hae-in’s “Although I Rise as Half Moon Today” were loved by readers.
During the 1990s books portrayed individuals’ despair and desire under the economic boom and bust of the time. Individuals experienced both pain and pleasure along with the fate of the national economy. Readers flocked to self-development books such as “The World is Wide and Many Things to Do” by Kim Woo-jung and “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey, dreaming to become successful. In the late 1990s when the financial crisis hit the nation, readers found hope and comfort in the books such as “Chicken Soup for the Soul” by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, and Hirotada Ototake’s “No One’s Perfect.” Female authors such as Gong Ji-young, Shin Kyung-sook and Eun Hee-kyung emerged as the best-selling writers in this period.
Between 2000 and 2010 was a time marked by individual characteristics due to the development of the Internet culture. After the financial crisis of the late 1990s people sought for the individual success. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho and “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne attracted readers to internal happiness to pursue true success in life. Through the self-reflection of individualism and isolation of modern people, thought-provoking books such as Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom” and the late Ven. Beopjeong’s essays were included in the best-seller list. International bestsellers such as the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling and “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown flooded the local market. The inclusion of educational books such as TOEIC and TOEFL study books among the highest-selling titles was unique to the period.
The author points out sometimes top-selling titles reveal the dark side of human desire such as professor Ma Kwang-su’s 1989 novel, “I Like a Sexy Woman” and actress Suh Kap-sook’s autobiography, “I Sometimes Wish to Be a Star in Pornography” which sold more than 800,000 copies, the highest in 1999.
Such controversial books were successful in drawing public attention and prevailed by taking advantage of people’s voyeuristic urges. Recently Shin Jeong-ah’s “4001,” her autobiography mixing scandal and romance has made the bestseller list in the same vein.
The book admits its limitations and doesn’t cover the entire history of Korean bestsellers as it omits top titles from before the 1980s due to a lack of records.
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