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| Haruki Murakami's 2014 short story collection "Men Without Women," left, and Joh Sasaki's 2017 novel "The Policeman's Lineage" / Courtesy of Munhakdonge Publishing, Viche Book |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
The recent release of films based on books has raised interest in the original novels, as fans of these movies often go on to seek a deeper and more layered understanding of the films in their literary form.
Haruki Murakami's 2014 short story collection "Men without Women" reached 33rd on the top seller list for fiction, drama and poetry in Kyobo Bookstore, the country's largest bookstore chain, while it previously hadn't even ranked in the top 100. It also rose to 66th and 73rd on Aladin and YES24 bookstores, respectively.
The re-entrance on the top seller chart comes after Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "Drive My Car," a film based on the book, drew strong reactions from critics and audiences. The Japanese film, which won the Golden Globe award for Best Picture in the non-English language category, became a rare arthouse hit by exceeding 38,000 theater seats being filled in Korea.
"It's hard to conclude that the success of films leads to strong book sales. However, the books written by authors that have a strong fan base in Korea, like Haruki Murakami or Frank Patrick Herbert (author of 'Dune'), tend to gain more attention," a Kyobo Book Center official said.
Joh Sasaki's 2017 crime novel "The Policeman's Lineage" is relishing attention from Korean fans after it was adapted for the screen by director Lee Kyu-man. The novel entered the top 100 books list in Kyobo Bookstore in the first week of January.
The cast revealed that the novelist showed great interest in the film, which took a faithful approach to the original text.
"Sasaki brought his book to the filming site to support us. He mentioned how excited he feels about his work being adapted into a movie in Korea," actor Cho Jin-woong said.
Acemaker Movieworks, the film's distributor, launched an event where it gave out the original novel to a selected audience who re-watched "The Policeman's Lineage."
Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci," based on the novel "The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed" by Sara Gay Forden, and Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," based on the original stage book by the playwright Arthur Laurents, are likely to boost interest in the original texts. Both books were released in 2021, just months prior to their theatrical release.
"House of Gucci" tells the true story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire. "West Side Story" is a musical film that centers on the forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
Finally, "The House Where the Mermaid Sleeps" based on Keigo Higashino's novel of the same title, and "Death on the Nile" adapted from Agatha Christie's travel mystery book, will soon be hitting theaters.
