Yes24 Announces First Half Bestsellers and Book Sales Trends... 'The Having' Tops Bestseller List
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the time spent at home increased, leading to a 16% rise in book sales in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, online bookstore Yes24 announced on the 2nd.
Yes24 revealed the bestseller list and book sales trends for the first half of the year, compiled up to May 31.
Yes24 stated that the global pandemic of COVID-19 had a significant impact on the publishing market in the first half of this year. Due to social distancing measures to prevent community transmission, the continued time spent at home led to a noticeable increase in sales across various book categories such as children/youth, health/hobbies, novels/poetry/plays, and essays. Furthermore, the publishing trend keywords for the first half of this year were presented as #Wise_Home_Life #Donghak_Ant_Movement #Book_Docent #Rediscovery_of_Classics #Fandom_Sellers #One_Line_Culture.
The best-selling book in the first half of this year was 'The Having', which had previously been released earlier in the United States and attracted attention. 'The Having' led the increase in sales of self-development books in the first half of this year. Among the top 100 books, 12 were self-development titles, compared to only 6 in the same period last year.
From February 23, when the Ministry of Education announced the first school opening delay, to March 15, a three-week period, sales of children/youth literature increased by 70.8% compared to the same period last year, marking the highest sales growth in the past three years. The 'Heunhan Nam-mae' series, which features stories of the popular YouTube creators who have gained enthusiastic support from children, included four titles in the top 100, including 'Heunhan Nam-mae 3', which ranked second in the overall bestseller list for the first half of the year.
Adults also immersed themselves in hobbies they could enjoy at home during the social distancing period from March 22 to May 5, which led to increased sales of related books. Sales of health/hobby books rose by 36.7% compared to the same period last year, while sales of novels/poetry/plays and essays increased by 21.4% year-on-year during the same period.
As concerns grew that COVID-19 could lead to a global economic recession, sales of investment/finance books in the first half of the year increased by 76.2% compared to the same period last year. Sales of stock/securities books surged by 155.2%.
Classic bestsellers such as 'The Plague', 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie, 'Cosmos', and 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat' made a comeback, shaking up the publishing market. The tvN program 'These Days Bookstore' made classic steady-sellers, which had felt difficult and unfamiliar, easy to understand by focusing on their core content, leading to a resurgence of classic bestsellers. Yes24 explained that books introduced by TV programs and broadcasters who act as so-called 'book docents'?similar to docents who explain exhibits to visitors at museums or art galleries?by recommending and explaining books in an accessible way to readers, gained popularity.
Singer Yang Joon-il's photo essay 'Yang Joon-il MAYBE Your and My Code Words' surpassed 7,000 copies sold within three hours of release, ranking 11th in Yes24's overall bestseller list for the first half of the year.
By age group, book purchase proportions in the first half of the year were highest among those in their 40s at 46%, followed by those in their 30s at 21.5%. Compared to the same period last year, the proportion of buyers in their 30s decreased by 2.2 percentage points, while those in their 40s increased by 1.8 percentage points. The gender purchase ratio for the first half of this year was 31.9% male and 68.1% female. The male ratio decreased by 1.7 percentage points compared to last year.
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