Trump books join best seller list

Cover of “Crippled America” by Donald Trump. / Courtesy of iremedia

Cover of “Presidents Write" / Courtesy of Medici Media

By Kim Jae-heun

Since Donald John Trump’s election to become the 45th President of the United States earlier this week, books about him are flourishing in local bookstores and one of them topped the bestseller list.

Here in Korea, Trump winning the U.S. presidential election came as a surprise. Many Koreans still have a difficult time accepting Hillary Clinton’s defeat. There is not much information about the American real estate billionaire, Trump, except the allegations that he is a misogynist and racist.

During the presidential campaign, the local media have been mainly focusing on Trump’s outspoken speeches on key security issues. Few media outlets have run stories about his political life or career.

“Crippled America” is one of the books written by Trump that is a top seller in the local market. As the sales of the book rose sharply, the local publisher was quick to print additional copies. According to Yonhap News Agency, books about Trump sold less than 10 copies a week before the election. But on Wednesday, nearly 1,200 copies have been sold.

In local bookstores, there are some 10 books on Trump and some of them are written by the man himself. Many of them analyze the psychology behind Americans voting for Trump for U.S. president and what will happen once Trump takes office.

“Crippled America” was first published last November and it is a very different story that Trump wrote from his previous books. The book was first published when he first began his campaign as a U.S. presidential candidate and it contains his political vision and pledges along with the subtitle ‘How to Make America Great Again,’ which was also his campaign slogan.

The cover of the book shows the angry face of Donald Trump to alert people about his thoughts of America’s current incompetence and that he has decided to run for the presidency to solve the problems. He deals with various topics such as health measures, gun laws, climate change, plans on the Middle East and energy policy throughout the 17 chapters.

The local publisher iremedia says that Koreans are ignorant of the U.S. President-elect. Trump’s image here only reminds us of his rough talks and spiteful remarks. He was seen as an eccentric in his homeland, who will add joy to the surprise and shock of what seemed to be an obvious Clinton victory. However, Trump had already defeated 17 candidates in Republican primary and he has became the trend, and then elected as the new leader of America, contrary to what many in the press predicted.

The book gives readers a chance to reconsider Trump – why did he decide to run for the presidency, what he wants to achieve and what his promises are before criticizing him unilaterally.

The publisher hopes the book can peel off the superficial stereotype of Trump and help readers gain a deeper understanding of the American president-elect to better prepare for Korea after his leadership.

President’s scandal sheds light on books about writing skills of former Korean presidents

After Korean President Park Geun-hye became embroiled in a scandal with her close confidant Choi Soon-sil, who is said to have edited speeches for the leader, the sales of a book about late presidents’ writing skills has recently become a hot seller.

After the outbreak of the Choi scandal in October, the public has taken a growing interest in the writing skills of former presidents – boosting sales of the book “Presidents Write” by 76 times for 10 days compared to that of 10 days earlier. The book’s sale rank shot up to reach the top five in the overall sector and it became the second best selling electronic book at Kyobo Book Center, the country’s biggest bookstore.

The book, which is written by former president’s wordsmith Kang Weon-kug two years ago, has been a steady-seller for people interested in politics or writing. However, the president’s scandal has grabbed ordinary readers to look into the story.

Kang teaches 40 ways of writing techniques that he learned directly from two late presidents, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Kim and Roh are well-known for being eloquent speakers and writers who moved people’s hearts without gun or knife.

Unlike other writing books that only comprise an explanation and show example sentences, Presidents Write include writer’s episode with late presidents which gives indirect experience as the readers are watching TV drama. The very first book on president’s writing explains the know-how according to a speech’s purpose, subject, means of delivering, location and situation. It focuses on delivering the exact message and influencing the reader successfully as he originally intended.