Female writers, e-book 2009 trends

A word of the year in the domestic publishing market could be "mother," thanks to the unprecedented success of Shin Kyung-sook`s novel "Take Good Care of Mom."

The novel, published at the end of last year, sold more than 1.2 million copies, breaking one record after another, showcasing the commercial appeal of the renowned author among mainstream readers in Korea.

Major bookstores put out data summing up the sales this year, unanimously placing Shin`s novel about a mother gone missing at the top slot. Kyobo Bookstore said in a press release that the popularity of Shin`s novel is also indicative of a new trend in the local publishing sector.

"Shin`s novel emerged as the No. 1 title, while female readers have begun to exercise more influence on the market, demonstrating their preferences on the bestseller lists," Kyobo said.

"Take Good Care of Mom" could soon be a hit overseas, as well. According to the Imprima Korea Agency, which handles the copyright of the novel, 15 foreign publishers have committed to publish Shin`s bestselling novel in their domestic markets. They include the United States, Japan, China, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.



Second on the 2009 bestseller list was "1Q84," the latest two-volume novel by prominent Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, according to Kyobo. The novel, whose title alludes to George Orwell`s "1984," was published in August here, quickly creating buzz among local readers.

Kyobo said "Twilight" topped the list in the imported book section, reflecting the movie franchise`s popularity.

The year started off poorly for booksellers.

The outlook for the overall publishing market was largely negative in January. The economy was in the doldrums, and readers put off book purchases.

Kyobo, the country`s biggest bookstore chain, said its preliminary yearly sales rose 8.9 percent from 2008, helped by the stronger-than-expected revenue from e-book sales. The lackluster figure illustrates that books sold in electronic form were the main drivers for growth.

While offline book sales remain stagnant, publishers and IT companies began to pay attention to the potential of e-books. Even though there have been a handful of attempts to kick-start the potentially huge market in the past few years, writers, readers and publishers have not paid much attention. That changed dramatically this year.

Device makers such as Samsung Electronics and iriver introduced new e-book readers, raising the possibility that Korea might see a boom in the new platform in the near future following the success of Amazon.com`s the Kindle in the United States.

Interpark, a major online bookstore, said its sales also edged up, hurt by the protracted economic slump, but better that the previous year`s 10 percent decline.

Both Kyobo and Interpark said the most visible trend this year is the greater visibility of novels on the bestseller lists. In the past couple of years, critics and readers complained that fewer novels made it onto bestseller lists, warning that a decline of Korean fiction would have a detrimental impact on the publishing market.

Despite lingering concerns, a host of writers - particularly female novelists including Shin Kyung-sook, Gong Ji-young and Kim Byeol-ah - produced popular titles that captured the imagination of female readers, whose market share is estimated at around 60 percent.

Bookstores also included the late English professor Chang Young-hee`s last essay collection, "The Miracle I Lived, The Miracle I Will Live," on the bestseller list. Chang, who taught at Sogang University, died of cancer in May, but her inspiring essays and columns posthumously touched many hearts.

While female writers made great strides, several male writers did as well. One such writer is Jo Jung-rae, whose 10-volume series "Taebaek Mountains" reached its 200th printing, setting a new record in Korea literature.

"Taebaek Mountains" first hit the market in 1986 and completed its series in 1989. While the first volume recently reached 200 printings, other volumes each surpassed 100. In total, more than 7 million copies of the series have been sold in the past 20 years, a record that seems unlikely to be broken for a long time to come.

Another notable male writer this year is Kim Hoon, 61, who published his new novel, "Gongmudoha," which became an instant bestseller.

Unlike his previous novels, "Gongmudoha" is set in a small seaside village, a modern background in which the author introduces Mun Jeong-su, a reporter at a local newspaper, and his girlfriend No Mok-hee, an editor at a publishing house, along with a set of incidents.

(insight@heraldm.com)





By Yang Sung-jin