[Chungmuro Book Cafe] The 'Yang Joon-il Syndrome' Captivating the Hearts of Women in Their 40s and 50s

'Heunhan Nammae, Detective Genius Children, and Cartoon Thousand Character Classic' Dominate Children's Bookstores

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The Yang Joon-il syndrome has also struck the bookstore market. Yang Joon-il's essay "Yang Joon-il MAYBE: The Code Words Between You and Me" topped the bestseller lists of Yes24, Interpark, and Kyobo Bookstore. In the case of Kyobo Bookstore, pre-orders are not counted in bestseller sales figures. Therefore, "Heunhan Nammae 3" still maintained the number one spot. However, in the online bestseller rankings that include pre-orders, Yang Joon-il's essay took first place.

Asia Economy selected bestsellers from books sold between the 31st of last month and the 5th of this month. The sales rankings of major online and offline bookstores such as Interpark, Yes24, and Kyobo Bookstore were referenced, and a comprehensive score was compiled based on ratings from the newspaper's culture department reporters.

"Yang Joon-il MAYBE: The Code Words Between You and Me" is scheduled to be published on the 14th of this month. It has already claimed the number one bestseller spot through pre-orders alone. Pre-order sales began at 10 a.m. on the 3rd at major online and offline bookstores, and the response was explosive.

Yes24 reported that sales surpassed 7,000 copies within three hours. Female buyers accounted for an overwhelming 90% of purchasers. Among female buyers, those in their 40s made up 47.4%, those in their 50s 18.2%, and those in their 30s 18.1%. Born in 1969, Yang Joon-il has emerged as a star attracting attention with the support of women of his generation. Interpark also reported selling 500 copies within one minute of sales starting and over 3,000 copies within an hour.

The publisher Modidic Books stated that the essay contains about 90 short pieces centered around specific words. The content includes insights gained through repeated setbacks and failures, stories about Yang Joon-il’s personal life and family, and the meanings behind the lyrics he wrote.

"Heunhan Nammae 3," which held the number one spot in the previous ranking, dropped to second place amid the Yang Joon-il craze. This ranking also featured three children’s books, drawing attention. All are long-running series with proven popularity.

"Detective Butt Genius 9: The Case of the Three Lucky Cats," published on the 15th of last month, ranked third, and "Magic Hanja 47: Bedtime! Night 야 夜!" published on the 29th of last month, took seventh place.

Kyobo Bookstore analyzed that sales of children’s books increased by 16.6% last year. Sales of children’s books based on character series and YouTube content have noticeably increased. "Heunhan Nammae," "Detective Butt Genius," and "Magic Hanja" are representative examples.

tvN’s "These Days Bookstore: Reading Books for You (These Days Bookstore)" continued to exert influence in this ranking. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," introduced in the broadcast on the 21st, ranked fourth.

Written by British neurologist Oliver Sacks, this book was published domestically in August 2016. It introduces clinical cases of patients exhibiting strange symptoms caused by neurological abnormalities.

Sacks was praised for his writing skills to the extent that the American daily The New York Times called him the "poet laureate" of modern medicine. His 1973 book "Awakenings" was adapted into a film of the same name starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. Many other books by Sacks have been used as material in various artistic fields such as theater, opera, and dance.

"Factfulness," which maintained the 10th place as in the previous ranking, continues to enjoy steady popularity after being featured on "These Days Bookstore."

The light humanities books "One Page a Day, The Shortest Liberal Arts Lesson in the World 365" and "Broad and Shallow Knowledge for Intellectual Conversation: Zero Edition" dropped three and two places respectively compared to the previous ranking. This was due to the new entries of children’s books and Yang Joon-il’s essay.

The special 10th anniversary edition of "Be Happy by Yourself," which contains the famous essays of Monk Beopjeong, and "Eight," which introduces eight ways to cope in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), each fell three places.